Origin 1883, in the Civil Rights Cases.
The state action doctrine is a principle of United States constitutional law holding that the individual-rights guarantees of the Constitution, including the Fourteenth Amendment, restrain government action and not the conduct of private individuals or organizations. It took its modern shape in the Civil Rights Cases (1883), in which the Supreme Court struck down the public-accommodations provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 on the ground that the Fourteenth Amendment reaches only conduct by a state, not private discrimination, so a litigant invoking a constitutional right must generally show a sufficient governmental nexus to the challenged conduct.
Facts
Origin Period1883, in the Civil Rights Cases. 1 Core PrincipleThe Fourteenth Amendment is prohibitory upon the states only, so constitutional rights claims require state action; purely private conduct, however discriminatory, is reached by ordinary legislation rather than by the constitutional guarantee itself. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Civil Rights Cases (Wikipedia)
WikipediaMajority opinion, Holding sectionQuote, Majority opinion, Holding section
The Fourteenth Amendment is prohibitory upon the States only, and the legislation authorized to be adopted by Congress for enforcing it is not direct legislation on matters respecting which the States are prohibited from making or enforcing certain laws, but is corrective legislation.
1. Civil Rights Cases (Wikipedia)
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