State Ex Rel. Major v. Cummings

Mr. Special, Justice Aran M. Prewitt

delivered the opinion of the Court.

The mayor of the City of Nashville refused to grant a certificate of good moral character to the complainant, not based on his moral turpitude, but because the granting of the certificate would have been to license him to sell liquor in an area prohibited in a segregation ordinance. The complainant charges that the mayor acted arbitrarily in refusing to issue the certificate. Ordinance No. 1220 of the city confined the sale of liquor to an area comprising the uptown business district of the city. Later on, amendments were…