Supreme Court Precedents

The landmark power known as judicial review has had many lasting effects on laws known as precedents, from permitting the separation of two races to requiring that all defendants receive attorneys. Precedents regard racial segregation are the basis of what the cases Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education established when viewed as two components of one story. Plessy v. Ferguson resulted in the “separate, but equal” doctrine allowing African Americans and white Americans to stay separate. Brown v.

In the case of Plessy V Ferguson, a man named “Homer Plessy, who was one eighth black, purchased a first class ticket and sat in an all whites only railroad car.” At the time Louisiana had a law put in place that stated any and every railing company in Louisiana carrying passengers must have separate cars for the whites and the colored. Plessy was arrested and he argued that the Act conflicted with the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments but lost

On June 7, 1892, Plessy boarded a New Orleans train and sat in the “whites only” car.  Plessy then informed the conductor that he was black and the railroad officials, following through on the arrangement, arrested Plessy and charged him with violating the Separate Car Act. Tourgée’s plan was officially in motion.  In the Criminal District Court for the Parish of Orleans, Tourgée argued that the law requiring “separate but equal accommodations” was unconstitutional as it violated the 13th & 14th Amendments. Further, as illustrated by Plessy’s arrest, there was no way for railroad companies to enforce the law. (Had Plessy not announced himself, no one would have ever known he was black.)  As Tourgée anticipated, Judge John H. Ferguson ruled

2) Case Facts- Homer Plessy, a self described half black man decided to sit in a coach reserved for white citizens only on a Louisiana railcar. He was jailed, subsequently however during his trial he appealed to the court on the grounds that the Louisiana statute that forbade him to sit in this section of the coach was in clear violation of the both the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. An 1883 case found that “as long as a clear distinction of race existed, the statute had no tendency to destroy the legal equality of the two races, or establish a state of involuntary servitude. This is relevant as the Thirteenth Amendment references “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” Other cases such as Roberts v. City of Boston in 1849 supported Justice Browns argument, citing that the Boston school committee had power to make provision for the instruction of colored children in separate schools established exclusively for them, and to prohibit their attendance upon the other schools. Other cases include the same provisional powers for interracial marriage and political equality amongst blacks and whites.

In order to show how the “separate but equal” doctrine came to be, as a class we created a mock trial of the Plessy v. Ferguson case. The idea of separate but equal allowed states to segregate black and white people through public services and accommodations for over 60 years. Despite this idea of equality in the doctrine, many people took advantage of it, as it gave both black and white people an influence on whether they were inferior or superior.

The Plessy v. Ferguson case set an important precedent in the history of the united states. While the conclusion of the case itself remains that all public facilities are to remain segregated it gave way, as a trigger for many important developments we have today to occur. Not only did the case set a precedent for future cases, but it also legitimized the principles of Jim Crow. By legitimizing a principle of thought and social standard through politics, the principle now becomes even more arrogant as it is enforceable by further statutes and legislature and makes even more difficult for the issue to be amended. Though further decisions were made to advance the society of the United States, the mentality of our society was not corrected but

The Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson is known for having established the precedent of “separate but equal.” The case originated in Louisiana and was specifically made to the separate passenger cars that were for the black and white races. The Supreme Court, in this case, upheld the right of Louisiana to separate the races and “this decision provided the legal foundation to justify many other actions by state and local governments to socially separate blacks and whites” (Zimmerman, 1997). It was not until the famous Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 that the highest court in the land outlawed the principal of segregation and the concept of “separate but equal.”

There was no clarification on what race would be considered white or what would be considered black. During this incident, “Homer Plessy, who was seven-eighths white and one-eighth African American, purchased a rail ticket for travel within Louisiana and took a seat in a car reserved for white passengers. (The state Supreme Court had ruled earlier that the law could not be applied to interstate travel.) After refusing to move to a car for African Americans, he was arrested and charged with violating the Separate Car Act.”(Duignan 2017). Judge Ferguson ruled that the separation was fair and did not violate the fourteenth amendment. The state Supreme Court also backed up this decision. The case was brought to the Supreme Court and "The law was challenged in the Supreme Court on grounds that it conflicted with the 13th and 14th Amendments. By a 7-1 vote, the Court said that a state law that “implies merely a legal distinction” between the two races did not conflict with the 13th Amendment forbidding involuntary servitude, nor did it tend to reestablish such a condition." (History.com Staff 2009). This decision set the key precedent of Separate but Equal in the United States. Racial segregation kept growing.

African Americans were never treated the same as other Americans. One day a black man who looked white named Homer Plessy got sick of sitting in a Jim Crow car so he decided to purchase a first class ticket in the white’s only section on the train. Plessy told the conductor that he was 1/8 black and he refused to move from the car. Removed from the train Plessy was in jail overnight and was released on a 500 dollar bond. Homer Plessy protested that his 13th and his 14th amendments rights were violated. This case became known as Plessy v. Ferguson. This case upheld the constitutionality of segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine.

In the Court case Plessy V. Ferguson the Court said that requiring blacks and whites to be transported in different railroad cars was alright as long as the different cars were equal in all ways. (Plessy V. Ferguson 1896) But in a later case (Brown V. Board of Education 1954) It was proven that having segregated schools was damaging the psychological development of young African Americans. The separate but equal doctrine was removed for violating the 14th Amendment.

In 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court case upheld the constitution of segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case. This case examined one key issue, was it constitutional to make black people sit in separate cars from white people? In 1890, Homer Plessy broke the law in Louisiana, by sitting in the white people car and he was 1/8 black and 7/8 white. The state of Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which required railway companies to have "separate but equal." There was punishment for not following the law which if a person would sit in the wrong car they had to pay $25 fine or go to jail for 20 days. Plessy was asked to move, but he refused and was arrested. When he was sent to jail he argued that Separated car acts violated the 14th amendment. Plessy took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court and it was

On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Education of Topeka that

The Supreme Court was important in both suppressing and aiding the Civil Rights Movement. However, decisions taken by the President, the continued white opposition and improvements in media communications also had an effect. Although all were important, the Civil Rights movement alone would have reached the same end without the help of the Supreme Court, and the devotion of its many members and leaders is the major factor in advancing Civil Rights.

In the Plessy v. Ferguson case, the statute of Louisiana, acts of 1890, c. 111 requires train companies to provide separate but equal usage for colored and white races. Plessy was a resident in the state of Louisiana which he was of mixed race as he was seven eighths caucasian and one eighth black. He tried to use the whites only train section and was arrested. Plessy then sued Louisiana State Supreme Justice, the Hon. John H. Ferguson for violating his 13th Amendment which prevents slavery and his 14th Amendment which is equal protection under US laws. (“Plessy v. Ferguson”, 1).

The intellectual roots of Plessy v. Ferguson, the landmark United States Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation in 1896 under the doctrine of "separate but equal" were, in part, tied to the scientific racism of the era.[32][33] However, the popular support for the decision was more likely a result of the racist beliefs held by many whites at the time.[34] In deciding Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court rejected the ideas of scientific racists about the need for segregation, especially in schools. The Court buttressed its holding by citing (in footnote 11) social science research about the harms to black children caused by segregated schools.