Johnson V. Roadway Express, Inc

Johnson v. Roadway Express, Inc. is a landmark United States Supreme Court case decided in 1991, centered on the interpretation of fee-shifting provisions within the Civil Rights Act of 1866, specifically 42 U.S.C. Section 1981. The litigation arose from a racial discrimination claim brought by John Johnson against Roadway Express, focusing on whether a prevailing plaintiff could recover attorney's fees under the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976 when the underlying claim was brought under Section 1981.

The Court's decision was authored by Justice Thurgood Marshall, who reasoned that the 1976 Act did not authorize fee awards for Section 1981 claims because that statute was not among those explicitly enumerated by Congress. This volume serves as a formal record of the legal reasoning and the broader judicial debate regarding civil rights litigation. It remains a foundational text for legal scholars and practitioners examining the historical limitations placed on federal civil rights remedies during the late twentieth century.