State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General

E666851

official capacity party designation plaintiff designation relator-style case caption

State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General, was the official capacity in which Alabama’s attorney general represented the state in legal actions, notably in civil rights-era litigation such as NAACP v. Alabama.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
John Patterson as Attorney General of Alabama	1
State of Alabama acting through its Attorney General John Patterson	1
State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T7476034 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General
Context triple: [NAACP v. Alabama, respondent, State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General]

A. United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama is the chief federal prosecutor responsible for representing the U.S. government in criminal and civil cases within that judicial district in southern Alabama.
B. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch is a Republican lawyer and public official best known for successfully arguing the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that led the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
C. United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama
The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama is the chief federal prosecutor representing the U.S. government in criminal and civil cases within the northern region of Alabama.
D. State Auditor of Alabama
The State Auditor of Alabama is a statewide elected official responsible for overseeing and reporting on the proper accounting and use of public funds within Alabama’s government agencies.
E. Assistant United States Attorneys in the Southern District of Alabama
Assistant United States Attorneys in the Southern District of Alabama are federal prosecutors who represent the United States in criminal and civil cases within that district’s jurisdiction.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General
Target entity description: State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General, was the official capacity in which Alabama’s attorney general represented the state in legal actions, notably in civil rights-era litigation such as NAACP v. Alabama.

A. United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama is the chief federal prosecutor responsible for representing the U.S. government in criminal and civil cases within that judicial district in southern Alabama.
B. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch is a Republican lawyer and public official best known for successfully arguing the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that led the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
C. United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama
The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama is the chief federal prosecutor representing the U.S. government in criminal and civil cases within the northern region of Alabama.
D. State Auditor of Alabama
The State Auditor of Alabama is a statewide elected official responsible for overseeing and reporting on the proper accounting and use of public funds within Alabama’s government agencies.
E. Assistant United States Attorneys in the Southern District of Alabama
Assistant United States Attorneys in the Southern District of Alabama are federal prosecutors who represent the United States in criminal and civil cases within that district’s jurisdiction.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (36)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	official capacity party designation ⓘ plaintiff designation ⓘ relator-style case caption ⓘ
associatedWithOffice	Alabama Attorney General’s Office ⓘ
associatedWithPerson	John Patterson ⓘ
captionLanguage	Latin phrase "ex rel." meaning "on the relation of" ⓘ
caseCaptionElement	State of Alabama ⓘ linked to: Alabama
caseCaptionElement	ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General ⓘ
courtLevelInNAACPvAlabama	Alabama state courts ⓘ linked to: Alabama courts Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
function	to bring legal actions on behalf of the State of Alabama ⓘ to defend state laws and state interests in court ⓘ
geographicScope	State of Alabama ⓘ linked to: Alabama
isCaptionFormOf	State of Alabama acting through its Attorney General John Patterson ⓘ linked to: State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General
jurisdiction	State of Alabama ⓘ linked to: Alabama
legalContext	civil rights litigation concerning freedom of association ⓘ
legalSystem	United States legal system ⓘ linked to: United States law
legalTheory	parens patriae representation of state interests ⓘ
notablyAppearedInCase	NAACP v. Alabama ⓘ
officeHeldByRelator	Attorney General of Alabama ⓘ linked to: Attorney General
partySide	state ⓘ
partyType	governmental party ⓘ
relatedConcept	attorney general as chief legal officer of a state ⓘ official-capacity litigation ⓘ state enforcement actions ⓘ
relator	John Patterson ⓘ
represents	State of Alabama ⓘ linked to: Alabama
representsInterestOf	State government of Alabama ⓘ linked to: state government of Alabama public interest as defined by Alabama law ⓘ
roleInNAACPvAlabama	party representing the State of Alabama ⓘ
timePeriod	civil rights era ⓘ
usedDuringTenureOf	John Patterson as Attorney General of Alabama ⓘ linked to: State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General
usedIn	United States Supreme Court cases ⓘ appellate litigation ⓘ civil litigation ⓘ
usedToChallenge	activities of the NAACP in Alabama in NAACP v. Alabama ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

NAACP v. Alabama → respondent → State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General ⓘ

State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General → isCaptionFormOf → State of Alabama acting through its Attorney General John Patterson ⓘ

linked to: State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General

State of Alabama ex rel. John Patterson, Attorney General → usedDuringTenureOf → John Patterson as Attorney General of Alabama ⓘ