Bernal v. Fainter

Bernal v. Fainter
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 28, 1984 Decided May 30, 1984
Full case name	Bernal v. Fainter, Secretary of State of Texas, et al.
Citations	467 U.S. 216 (more) 104 S. Ct. 2312; 81 L. Ed. 2d 175; 1984 U.S. LEXIS 93; 52 U.S.L.W. 4669
Prior history	Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Holding
Texas statute (Article 5949(2)) requiring that a notary public be a United States citizen violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Pp. 219-228.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan, Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell, Jr. · William Rehnquist John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Case opinions
Majority	Marshall, joined by Burger, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens, O'Connor
Dissent	Rehnquist
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV

Bernal v. Fainter, 467 U.S. 216 (1984), is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Equal Protection Clause prohibited the state of Texas from barring noncitizens from applying for commission as a notary public.

The Supreme Court decided that since the requirements of being a notary are essentially ministerial (that is, without judgment or discretion, either the person fits the statutory requirement to have a document authenticated or they do not), and the only real requirement of a notary was to follow the law, being a notary does not have any special character of citizenship that would require one to necessarily be a citizen. This is unlike, say, being a police officer, where a locality may require police officers to be citizens because they act on behalf of the state and have considerable discretion in how the law is enforced.

The Supreme Court struck down the Texas law that required a notary to be a citizen. The court also noted that notary commissions are issued by the Texas Secretary of State, who, ironically enough, is not required to be a citizen, despite holding the "highest appointive position" in Texas.

See also

• Torcaso v. Watkins (religious test to be a notary found unconstitutional)
• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 467

External links

• Findlaw.Com Text of decision

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