Home > Great American Court Cases > Patterson v. McLean Credit Union

Legal Citation: 491 U.S. 164 (1989)

Petitioner
Brenda Patterson

Respondent
McLean Credit Union

Petitioner's Claim
That the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which prohibits racial discrimination in the "making and enforcing" of contracts, covers problems arising from conditions of employment, such as harassment and failure to promote.

Chief Lawyers for Petitioner
Julius LeVonne Chambers, Penda D. Hair

Chief Lawyers for Respondent
Roger S. Kaplan, H. Lee Davis, Jr.

Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Anthony M. Kennedy (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting
None

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
15 June 1989