BRIEF #1
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Date
Dec 6, 2023
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Uploaded by sscoville15
Sidney Scoville
March 10, 2019
CASE BRIEF
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas,
347 U.S. 483 (1954)
Judicial History:
This case came before the United States Supreme Court on a Writ
of Certiorari from the District Court in Kansas. As an indication of the importance of this case, it
came directly to the Supreme Court from the District Court.
Facts:
The schools in Topeka, Kansas were segregated. Some schools were for Whites only,
other schools were for African Americans only. Brown filed suit in the District Court in Kansas
and alleged that the segregation policy of the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was
a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution.
Issue:
Does the segregation policy of the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, that
divides children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical
facilities and other “tangible” factors may be equal, deprive the African American children for
equal protection rights as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution?
Rule:
The United States Supreme Court cited too many cases in the footnotes to its opinion;
however, it relied primarily on the cases of Sweat v. Painter 339 U.S. 629 and McLaurin v.
Oklahoma 339 U.S. 637.
Analysis:
The Brown case actually encompassed a number of other cases that had been brought
on similar issues. The Supreme Court convinced all of these cases into the Brown opinion
because, ultimate, they all asked the same question, to which the Supreme Court gave one
answer.
The schools in Topeka, Kansas were dived based upon the race of the children attending. The
Court recognized that the Board of Education provided equal facilities and other “tangible”
benefits to all the children in the school district regardless of their race and which school they
attended. The Court noted that the case that arose in Delaware that was Combined into the
Brown case had significantly different facts and outcome. In the Delaware case, the Delaware
Supreme Court found that the white and black school were not equal and ordered that African
American children be enrolled in the better white schools. The analysis in Brown focuses
exclusively on race and not the better or worse facilities of the segregated schools. Although the
Delaware case reached the conclusion that African Americans be enrolled in white schools, it did
so based upon the difference is physical facilities and other tangible benefits, and left alone
any analysis of the inference inequity of dividing children on refacing alone. The Court cited to
the cases of the Slaughter-House Cases 16 Wall. 37 (1873) and Struader v. West Virginia 100
U.S. 303, 307-308 (1880) that the very first analysis of the equal protection right of the Fourteen
Amendment found that any and all discrimination of an African American bases exclusively on
race was forbidden. It was only later Court cases (Plessy v. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537) that greater
the concept of “separate but equal.” Under the “separate but equal” doctrine, it was permissible
to discriminate on the basis of race, provided that the opportunities were equal between the white
persons and African Americans. The Plessy decision allowed continued segregation and
discrimination under certain circumstances. The Brown Court rejected the concept of “separate,
but equal,” and as such overruled the Plessy case. The Plaintiff’s in the Brown case argued that
segregated school and not “equal” nor can they be made “equal” by providing equal physical
opportunities. The Court stated that this is an issue of great importance and this is why it
accepted the case and assumed jurisdiction.
The Court stated that it had heard the additional argument of the history of the
Fourteenth amendment and what the drafters actually meant and how it had been interpreted by
subsequent judicial opinions. The Court concluded that the equal protection guarantees of
the Fourteenth Amendment could not be overcome by providing equal treatment after
an impermissible separation based upon race. The Court cognized that the analysis, in this case,
could not be on equal opportunities, so instead, it analyzed the facts under the concept of its
effect of unlicensed education itself and not necessarily the individuals would suffer
discrimination. The Court discussed what place equal education has in current American
life throughout the entire nation.
The Court placed the provision of free public education as the most fundamental responsibility
of state and local governments. Such an important aspect of life must be provided in equal terms
to all children. The division of children based upon race may give rise to the children in the
discriminated class feeling inferior to the majority of white children, and this feeling of
inferiority may last into adulthood. The segregated child may feel inferior, and this would affect
his ability and willingness to learn.
The Court ultimately determined that the doctrine of “separate, but equal” had no place in public
education. No matter how much the local education authority may try to balance the
opportunities provided to white and African American children, it could not do so because of
the in inherent effect that serration has upon this who feel lessened because of its impact. Thus,
segregation in education based upon race is a violation of equal protection as guaranteed in the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and entirely impermissible.
Conclusion:
The United States Supreme Court held that any serration in public education
violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution and as such is wholly impermissible.
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