Lane v. Wilson
This page analyzes a single policy using structured scoring, historical evidence, source quality, and measurable outcomes.
Summary
The Supreme Court struck down Oklahoma's replacement voter registration scheme because it preserved advantages for voters previously protected by a grandfather clause while imposing restrictive, short registration windows on Black citizens excluded under Jim Crow.
How to Read This Record
Impact Reading
Very high documented impact
Evidence Base
Limited evidence from Archive sources.
Data Completeness
Needs Review record with 1 source and 0 metrics.
Outcome Summary
The ruling invalidated one adaptation of disfranchisement after Guinn v. United States, though Southern states continued searching for other suppression techniques.
Categories
Impact Scores
This score is a structured measure of how directly and materially this policy affected Black communities, weighted by evidence, durability, and equity. Harm offset reduces the total score.
Total Impact Score
30
Directness
4
How explicitly the policy targeted or affected Black communities.
Material Impact
3
The practical real-world effect on conditions, rights, or outcomes.
Evidence
5
Strength of sourcing and historical support for the assessment.
Durability
3
How lasting the effects of the policy were over time.
Equity
4
Whether the policy advanced fairness, inclusion, or equal access.
Harm Offset
0
Any offsetting harms, limitations, exclusions, or contradictory effects that reduce the total.
Scoring Notes: A useful anti-disfranchisement ruling, though states continued to evolve suppression tools.
Metrics
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Suggested Relationships
These policies may be related based on shared categories, era, and proximity in time.
1935 • Court Case • Unknown party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 3 • Year Distance: 4
1927 • Court Case • Unknown party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Positive
Shared Categories: 3 • Year Distance: 12
1903 • Court Case • Unknown party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 3 • Year Distance: 36
1898 • Court Case • Unknown party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 3 • Year Distance: 41
1896 • Court Case • Unknown party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 43
1883 • Court Case • Unknown party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 56
1956 • Court Case • Unknown party
Civil Rights Era • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 17
1957 • Law • Republican Party
Civil Rights Era • Mixed
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 18
Sources
Lane v. Wilson, 307 U.S. 268 (1939)
Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center • Archive
Published: Feb 27, 1939
Decision text describing Oklahoma's replacement registration scheme after Guinn.
View source