Case Index
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Facts: At the time of the decision in this case, 17 states and the District of Columbia had segregated public schools. During the 1952-1953 Supreme Court term, five cases, including Brown, challenged the doctrine of "separate but equal" that existed in elementary and high schools. The schools involved were clearly unequal to the white schools. In South Carolina, for instance, the white schools had one teacher for every 28 students and the black schools had one teacher for every 47 students. Additionally, there were differences such as, brick and stucco versus rotting wood and indoor plumbing versus outhouses.
Decision: When the case was argued during the 1952-1953 term, the Justices could not agree on a decision, so the cases were reargued a year later. Had the decision been made after the first argument, the Supreme Court would have ruled 5 to 4 to affirm the doctrine of "separate but equal" (Plessy v. Ferguson). However, Chief Justice Fred Vinson died in the summer between the two terms and President Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as the new Chief Justice. Justice Warren convinced the other Justices to join in a unanimous decision in holding that segregation in public schools was impermissible. Further, the court determined that segregated schools not only impaired educational opportunities but it stamped black children as inferior. This decision led to the desegregation of schools.
Buchanan v. Warley (1917)
Facts:
In the city of Louisville, Kentucky, a state law prohibited blacks from
living in neighborhoods where the majority of homes were occupied by whites and
whites from residing in majority black neighborhoods. The plaintiff, a white seller, sued a black purchaser who
claimed that their contract was void because the law barred him from buying the
home.
Decision: The Supreme Court held that the law violated the fourteenth amendment and therefore was unconstitutional. The court reasoned that while the objective may have been legitimate, laws cannot deny rights protected by the Constitution. It distinguished its decision from Plessy v. Ferguson by arguing that Plessy only required a class of people to conform to certain rules and did not deny the opportunity to ride the train or participate in some other activity entitled to.
Cumming v. County Board of Education (1899)
Facts: In Richmond County, Georgia, black property owners, residents, and taxpayers, challenged a tax that would benefit high schools. They argued that the tax was illegal because it only supported high schools open to white students.
Decision: The court held that the tax was not illegal. It determined that the city was allowed to determine the allocation of funds and Federal interference could only be justified if local authorities disregarded rights guaranteed by the constitution.
Guinn v. U.S. (1915)
Facts: In Oklahoma, in order to vote, a law required citizens to pass a literacy test. However, the law only applied to African Americans because it provided a "grandfather clause", which exempted those eligible to vote in 1866 and their descendants.
Decision: The court held that the "grandfather clause" was unconstitutional, but upheld the right of states to require literacy tests.
McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950)
Facts: The plaintiff was admitted to the Graduate School of the University of Oklahoma, but had to sit in segregated areas in the classroom, the library, and the cafeteria.
Decision: The court held that these restrictions were unconstitutional because it interfered with his "ability to study, to engage in discussions, and exchange views with other students, and, in general, to learn his profession."
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Facts: In 1890, Louisiana passed a law that required blacks to ride in separate railroad cars. Blacks protested and challenged the law. Homer Plessy, a carpenter in Louisiana who was seven-eighths Caucasian, was chosen to test the constitutionality of the law. On June 7, 1892, Plessy boarded a train and sat in a car reserved for whites. He refused to move and was arrested. A local judge ruled against Plessy
Decision: The case was appealed to the Supreme Court and in 1896, it upheld the lower courts ruling. It held that "separate but equal" accommodations did not violate Plessy's rights and that the law did not stamp the "colored race with a badge of inferiority." This decision paved the way for segregation.
Sweatt v. Painter (1950)
Facts: The plaintiff, Hemen Marion Sweatt was denied admission to the University of Texas, because he was black. Instead, Sweatt was offered enrollment to a newly established law school for blacks, but he declined the offer.
Decision: At the time of this case, the Supreme Court had recently found in a number of cases that the equal protection clause was violated when states failed to provide whites and blacks the same educational opportunities. The Court decided that the law school for blacks was not equal to the state law school and ordered the university to admit Sweatt.
