Also known as: colors · colored · coloring · colorable · colorably · colour · color of law · color of title
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
The racial or ethnic characteristic of a person. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
A hue or shade used in painting or design. Common-interest community associations lack power to restrict colors on individually owned property unless the declaration or statute authorizes the restriction.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
The racial or ethnic characteristic of a person. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A hue or shade used in painting or design. Common-interest community associations lack power to restrict colors on individually owned property unless the declaration or statute authorizes the restriction.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
State officials refuse to register Catherine Carter because her skin color matches a disfavored racial group. The Fifteenth Amendment directly bars the denial. Carter obtains an injunction restoring her registration and votes in the next election.
Homeowners sue to enforce a recorded covenant barring sale to persons of a particular color. The trial court issues an injunction. The Supreme Court reverses because judicial enforcement constitutes state action violating the Fourteenth Amendment.
A justice notes that personal experiences color views on a constitutional issue involving race. The observation underscores that subjective perspectives must yield to objective legal standards when deciding equal-protection claims.
A school board assigns students to buildings solely according to color. Parents challenge the policy. The Supreme Court holds that separate facilities are inherently unequal and orders desegregation.
Federal officers enter an apartment without a warrant while purporting to exercise official authority. The occupant sues for damages. The Court recognizes a cause of action for violation of constitutional rights committed under color of federal authority.
Yes. The amendment expressly forbids the United States or any state from denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Supporting sources
It constitutes state action that violates the Fourteenth Amendment even though the covenant itself is a private agreement.
Supporting sources
Crestview Holdings adopts a rule limiting house paint to three approved shades. The declaration contains no design controls. Owners paint their homes in other colors without penalty because the association lacks authority to impose the restriction.
Generally no. The Restatement provides that a common-interest community may not impose restrictions on colors unless a statute or the declaration authorizes the restriction.
Supporting sources
…and family and their values, and the moral standards one establishes and seeks to observe, are all likely to influence and to color one's thinking and conclusions about abortion. In addition, the normal 266-day human gestation period is so short that the pregnancy will come to term before the usual appellate process is…