... 2. What issues is the court addressing? What is the legal problem? 3. What law is the court applying? 4. What is the court’s decision, analysis, and rationale? For this week, you need to find a case that deals with Due Process, the Equal Protection Clause or Delegation. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) What are the important and relevant faces of the case? The Case is based upon The Equal Protection Clause, in which, this case occurred one hundred and nineteen years ago, but it was very interesting as to see what has changed during the century. In 1890, Louisiana State passed laws prohibited races to sit together on railroads; something in common with segregation in the south in the 1950’s and buses. Trains were required to have seating for different races and were divided by curtains or some form of barricade to prevent the races from sitting beside one another. Homer Adolph Plessy, a Louisiana businessman, who lived a society of whites and blacks, happen to have a black grandparent, in which Louisiana law defined him as an “octaroon”, one eight of black heritage. Plessy did not consider himself black, but Louisiana did and therefore made him sit in the segregated area for blacks. Plessy did not agree and challenged the Jim Crow laws by breaking the law intentionally and sitting in an area of the train that Louisiana law said he was prohibited to sit in, in which case caused him to be arrested and charged with criminal violation of the state law. What issues is the...
Words: 969 - Pages: 4
...Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson the Supreme Court decided that having ”separate but equal” accommodations for Whites and Colored did not violate the 14th Amendment (Wolff, 1997). This allowed states to continue segregation as they saw fit. The Plessy v. Ferguson case was centered on the segregation of railroad cars but the final ruling supported that all “separate but equal” accommodations were allowed by the constitution and was therefore allowed in restaurants, busses, and even schools. In 1954 the Supreme Court decided that “separate but equal” was not acceptable in the case of Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education. They determined that segregation went against the 14th Amendment (Wolff, 1997). This class action suit was filed by 13 parents for their 20 children. The plaintiff named was Oliver L. Brown, the father of third grader Linda who had walk six blocks to get to her school bus stop for her segregated school one mile away even though there was a school only seven blocks away from her home ("Brown V. Board Of Education", ). Although there were several cases fighting for similar things at the time this case is the most well-known. This class action suit was originally filed in 1951 even though the final decision was not made until 1954. The Supreme Court heard the case several times in 1953, paying special attention to the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and whether or not it prohibited...
Words: 671 - Pages: 3
...In 1896, Homer Plessy was asked to participate in a test case orchestrated by Comite des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens), which included him trying to sit in the white-only car of a train. At this time, African Americans, or anyone considered black, were by law supposed to sit in the “colored” car. When he was asked and refused to leave the car, a hired detective arrested him. When Plessy was first tried by the State of Louisiana, his attorneys argued that he was denied his 13th and 14th Amendment rights. Judge John Ferguson ruled that the railroad companies had a right to decide while they were operated within Louisiana borders. Eventually his case made it to the Supreme Court where, in a 7 to 1 vote, it was decided that “separate but equal” was constitutional. However, in 1954, the ruling from Plessy v. Ferguson was overturned by the Court’s findings in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS. The case was brought against the Topeka Board of Education by parents. When the case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, Justice Earl Warren announced the unanimous ruling against the “separate but equal” principle. The Supreme Court ruled that separating children because of race was unconstitutional. This overturning of the standard set by the Plessy v. Ferguson symbolized the end of racial...
Words: 445 - Pages: 2
...Plessy v. Ferguson Case Brief Diego Yanez Arizona State University In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, Homer Adolph Plessy made the decision of suing the city of Ferguson when he, a 7/8th's Caucasian man, was arrested for sitting in a "whites only" car and for refusing to move to the "blacks" section of the train, something fairly familiar in the late 1800’s where “separate but equal” was enforced not only in trains and other forms of transportation, but in schools and even something as small as bathrooms and drinking fountains. In this case, Plessy argued that his Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments had been broken. The question throughout the case is if Louisiana’s law requiring racial segregation on public transportation was infringing upon the constitutional rights of African Americans. In a seven to one vote, the supreme court decided for Ferguson where Justice Henry Brown wrote a majority opinion and Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote a dissenting opinion. Justice Henry Brown pointed out that the Fourteenth Amendment did not have anything to do with social equality, the Amendment was referring to equality in the form of law. The seven Justices who decided to vote in favor of Ferguson, did not believe that the separation of race by law “stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority”. (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896) The Justices firmly believed that one case would not change racial prejudice throughout the city or state, much...
Words: 555 - Pages: 3
...going cases at that time made a great impact: Plessy V Ferguson,Loving V. Virginia and Swan V. Mecklenburg, changed laws,creating the today's society. Society today is very open and accepting of mixed raced couples and children.In fact it is considered normal and not so much of a rare occasion like it was back then. To put it differently interracial marriage or what is know today as biracial marriage was considered a felony,a violation. Respect and self-worth was cut short for a caucasian if they were to fall in love with an African American.This law was in great effect in Virginia and punishment was eligible for both races.Purpose behind it was to insure racial integrity and to keep the blacks and whites separate at any cost. Romance between two races violated the equal protection clause resulting in why Caucasians were also punished.However at the same time is was important to realize that this conceptions was able to bring two races together and create a whole new generation of mixed children that would be more understanding and accepting of two races....
Words: 409 - Pages: 2
...An incident in 1892 involving an African American man Homer Plessy refused to sit in a Jim Crow car breaking a Louisiana law. In 1890 the law was put into play providing for “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” on its railroads. Plessy brought before Judge John H. Ferguson of criminal court for New Orleans, who upheld the law. The law later challenged by the Supreme Court on the grounds that it conflicted within the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment. The court later said that the law did not conflict with the Thirteenth amendment. The Court avoided discussion of the protection granted by the clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids the states to make laws depriving citizens of their “privileges or...
Words: 2489 - Pages: 10
...Equal protection of the laws-minorities Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Adolph Plessy who is ⅞ white, was arrested when he refused to sit in the “blacks only” railroad car. He said this violated his 14th amendment. Verdict: 7-1 decision for Ferguson, majority by Henry B. Brown. The court ruled that if the cars are separate yet equal then the louisiana law does not violate the 14th amendment. Brown v. board of education of Topeka, I (1954) African children were denied admittance into certain public schools that were segregated. The parents argued that denying them admittance was violating their 14th amendment. Verdict: unanimous decision for Brown , majority by Earl Warren. They said that separate but equal educational facilities was obviously unequal...
Words: 607 - Pages: 3
...Homer A. Plessy (P), who resided in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was defined by Louisiana law as a prosperous businessman and “octaroon” ”—one-eighth African American. Traveling by rail from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, Plessy refused to sit in a designated black railway carriage car and instead attempted to sit in an all-white railway car. Plessy was arrested for violating an 1890 Louisiana statute stipulating segregated “separate but equal” railroad accommodations. Under this statute, individuals using facilities not designated for their race were criminally liable. Plessy had acted on behalf of a committee to purposely commit an offence in order to initiate a case that would stand against the Jim Crow laws –laws that mandated racial segregation. Justice John H. Ferguson (D) presided over...
Words: 561 - Pages: 3
...Throughout history, many laws and acts have been decided upon and put into place by the court systems in the United States; the Plessy v. Ferguson case was no exception. The actions of the Committee of Citizens are what brought the Plessy v. Ferguson case into existence. As a result of these actions and the unjust case, many unfair regulations and laws were created and enforced. Some of those laws include the Separate-but-Equal doctrine and the Jim Crow laws. Every event surrounding the Plessy v. Ferguson case had a great impact on situations that occurred later in history. A certain circumstance surrounding the Committee of Citizens and their use of Homer Plessy in their fight against the Separate Car Act, along with segregation laws altogether,...
Words: 659 - Pages: 3
...Plessy V. Ferguson was a case during 1896 that caused a lot of controversy. This case stated that an octoroon (⅛ black) who wasn’t happy with how states were handling African Americans newly found freedom. To Plessy it seemed as if even though the Declaration of Independence had affirmed that “all men are created equal,” Americans didn’t see it that way. There was still prejudice in America and so black’s were forced to sit separately from whites or drink from different fountains. Little pointless details were made into a big deal. Plessy being ⅛ black, but still looking like an American, was never told to move to use the colored facilities until one day he was asked if he was part African American, and Plessy admitted to it. However, that didn’t stop Plessy from sitting at the front of the railcar, and because of his refusal he was arrested and brought to the United States Supreme Court, claiming the fourteenth amendment. Custom, Precedent, and Federalism the three systems of ruling were embodied into the discussion and the outcome of the case. Each...
Words: 644 - Pages: 3
...1. In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson and Cumming v. Richmond equal but separated was being demonstrated. However, in reality, it is never separate and equal instead unequal. In Plessy v. Ferguson case, Plessy refused to sit in a Jim Crow car, by violating the Louisiana law. However by declining Plessy’s argument that his constitutional rights were violated, the Court ruled that the state law did not violate the rights. Furthermore, the Supreme Court upheld the state’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson because the constitution provides separation of power between the state and the federal government. Also, according to the 14th amendment, it provides equal protection for all. This means as long as rights are being preserved it is not a violation...
Words: 333 - Pages: 2
...Case Title: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Plaintiff: Homer Adolph Plessy (man of mixed race) Defendant: John Howard Ferguson (louisiana judge) The Law: This case involves racial segregation laws and was the first major case to look into the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s (1868) equal-protection clause. The equal-protection clause prohibits the states from denying “equal protection of the laws” to any person within their jurisdictions. It also allowed for laws to be implemented that would achieve racial segregation by means of separate and supposedly equal facilities and services. The Facts of the Case: In 1891, 5 years before this case, a group in New Orleans created the Citizens’ Committee to Test the Constitutionality of the Separate Car Law. Homer Plessy purchased a railroad ticket for travel within Louisiana and decided to sit in a car reserved for white passengers only. Although Plessy appeared white he was one-eighth African American, meaning he should have been sitting...
Words: 769 - Pages: 4
...Homer Plessy, a 1/8th black man who intentionally sat in a “whites-only” rail car on the East Louisiana Railroad train, refused to move to the “blacks-only” rail car. Upon refusal, he was subsequently arrested under the Separate Car Act, passed by Louisiana in 1890. Plessy litigated against John Howard Ferguson, under the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause. Upon losing in the lower court, Plessy appealed to the Supreme Court. Plessy v Ferguson (1896), a landmark Supreme Court decision dealing with states’ rights, and whether or not they have the authority to make laws that publically segregate blacks from whites, ruled 7-1 in favor of Ferguson. The Court ruled that, because the Louisiana law was within state boundaries and because both of the cars were of equal quality, there was no violation of Plessy’s 14th amendment rights. The Supreme Court held that the 14th only made blacks as equal as whites, and had not made reference to segregation. As long as the segregation was equal, nothing had been violated. This case established the infamous separate-but-equal doctrine, fundamentally legalizing segregation. The majority opinion, held by justices Brown, Field, Gray, Shiras, White, Peckham, and joined by Fuller,...
Words: 642 - Pages: 3
...Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson was that of “separate but equal”. The infamous decision basically concluded that facilities for black Americans which were “separate” from those of white Americans were constitutional as long as they were of “equal” quality. In essence, the Supreme Court was ruling that laws of segregationist states requiring “separation” of public facilities based on the skin color of those using said facilities were fair, legal, and justified. The impact of the 1896 decision had a profoundly negative effect on the lives of black Americans and contradicted the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This amendment, ratified only 26 years before, was passed by Congress following the Civil War in effort to guarantee equal rights under the law for “all” Americans. The intent in adding it to the Constitution was to aid in reversing the cruel, heartless treatment African-Americans suffered from the day they were forced from their homeland to the shores of the United States. The Plessy v. Ferguson decision basically dismantled the theory of overall equality by granting legitimacy to unfair segregationist policies. As a matter of fact, the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling not only eroded any advances which may have been gained by black Americans in the Reconstruction era following the Civil War, but also provided backing for the so-called Jim Crow Laws which had been enacted by a number of state legislatures. In effect, the Plessy v. Ferguson decision...
Words: 304 - Pages: 2
...Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Facts: On June 7, 1892 Homer Plessy, a biracial man from Louisiana attempted to sit in a first class all-white railroad car. After refusing to remove himself to the black passenger car, Plessy was arrested. Plessy had violated Louisiana’s Separate Cars Act; which required railroad companies to provide separate, but equal accommodations for its Black and White passengers. Procedural History: In the case of Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana, U.S. District Court, Judge John H. Ferguson dismissed his contention that the act was unconstitutional. Ferguson maintained that Louisiana had the right to regulate railroad companies while they operated within state boundaries....
Words: 370 - Pages: 2
