Powell v. Texas

Powell v. Texas was a United States Supreme Court case which ruled that a Texas law against public intoxication did not violate the Eighth Amendment clause against cruel and unusual punishment.

Background

Leroy Powell worked shining shoes in a tavern. He spent what little money he made, not on caring for his family, but to feed his alcoholism, usually once a week to the point of intoxication. He had almost 100 convictions for public intoxication in and around the Austin area, he would be regularly fined, but lacking the funds to pay, he would work it off in the county jail.

After one such incident resulting in another $20 fine from the Austin municipal court, his attorney (citing a recent Supreme Court Case, Robinson v. California) appealed the decision on the grounds that Powell could not be arrested for simply having the disease of alcoholism. The county court held a trial de novo, ruled again against Powell and assessed an even heavier $50 fine. Lacking any further appeals in the Texas judicial system, his attorney appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case.

Decision of the Supreme Court

The final decision was a plurality decision: Justice Marshall (joined by Justices Warren, Harlan, and Black) ruled that Powell was not being convicted solely of being drunk, but of being drunk in a public place, and distinguished their decision from the earlier Robinson decision which had ruled Robinson was arrested solely for being a drug addict (Justices Harlan and Black wrote a separate concurring opinion arguing that striking down public intoxication laws would leave states powerless to deal with a "widespread and important social problem").

Justice White wrote a separate concurring opinion (but did not join in the plurality opinion) arguing that there was no constitutional violation for a public intoxication arrest.

Justice Fortas (joined by Justices Douglas, Brennan, and Stewart) dissented, arguing that alcoholism was as much a disease as was drug addiction, and that therefore consistent with Robinson, Powell should not have been arrested and charged.