Author: Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals

PRIMARY DOCUMENT

Norvell Lee v. Commonwealth of Virginia (September 7, 1949)

In Norvell Lee v. Commonwealth of Virginia, decided on September 7, 1949, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals overturns the conviction of Norvel Lee, who sat in the section of a train designated for white passengers. The court found that Virginia’s segregation law could not be enforced because Lee was travelling on an interstate ticket, drawing on a precedent set two years earlier by the U.S. Supreme Court in Morgan v. Virginia. In 1952, Lee became the first Black Virginian to win an Olympic gold medal.

PRIMARY DOCUMENT

Naim v. Naim (June 13, 1955)

In Naim v. Naim, decided on June 13, 1955, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals grants Ruby Naim, a white woman, an annulment for her marriage to the Chinese-born Han Say Naim on the grounds that the interracial marriage had never been legal in Virginia.

PRIMARY DOCUMENT

Loving v. Commonwealth (March 7, 1966)

In Loving v. Commonwealth, decided on March 7, 1966, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upholds the state’s antimiscegenation laws. The Court also sets aside the original conviction of Richard and Mildred Loving, finding that a sentence requiring the defendants, after having illegally lived as man and wife in Virginia, to leave the state is “unreasonable.” The Lovings appealed their case to the U.S. Supreme Court and won.

PRIMARY DOCUMENT

Kinney v. the Commonwealth (October 3, 1878)

In Kinney v. the Commonwealth, decided on October 3, 1878, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upholds Virginia’s laws prohibiting interracial marriage and affirms the priority of Virginia law over that of other jurisdictions. The case stems from the marriage between Andrew Kinney, a black man, and Mahala Miller, a white woman.

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