Case Brief Plessy Vs Ferguson 163 US 537

922 Words2 Pages

Case Brief: Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896). Evelyn Dumonte School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University CRJ 518: Race/Ethnicity, Crime & Justice 2024 Spring Session B Dr. Cassia Spohn Case Brief: Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896) Case Citation: Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896) United States Supreme Court No. 210 The district court for the United States Supreme Court deliberated on an important case, Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896), which was a precursor to later interpretations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Facts This case involved a US citizen, Homer Plessy, with European descent of 7/8 and African descent of 1/8. To determine the constitutionality of the …show more content…

Plessy sat in a seat in a Carnegie railroad car that was assigned to whites; he was arrested and convicted for breaching the law by refusing to get out of the vehicle. Plessy also claimed that federal laws and the constitution of the United States had supremacy over state laws and that the Separate Car Act was unconstitutional in violating his rights. This case stemmed from Plessy’s arrest and conviction for refusing to surrender his seat in the whites-only railway car even though he was three-quarters Caucasian. The defense of Plessy argued that the Separate Car Act was against his rights as a citizen and that Louisiana was wrong to pass such a law. It served to highlight the legal discourse regarding the rights that a state has in controlling businesses that serve the public as well as the rights of people of mixed-ethnicities. Legal Question Plessy argued that the Louisiana Separate Car Act denied him his rights to the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, plus the Fourteenth Amendment, which granted citizenship to all persons born within the United States. He …show more content…

The Court decision effectively approved the state arrangements, which provided for separate facilities for members of different races, a decision that would result in a long series of injustices and discrimination toward African Americans in the future. The majority opinion was delivered by Justice Brown, who dismissed Plessy’s claims and upheld the constitutionality of the Separate Car Act, a ruling that has influenced the lives of millions in America. Rationale for the Decision The Court stated that offering racially segregated train cars for people of color did not infringe upon the Thirteenth and the Fourteenth Amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment addressed only slavery and involuntary servitude, and the Court understood that no one was compelled to travel by train. Further, the Court bluntly stated that the Fourteenth Amendment did not empower Congress to govern the United States and that states should be allowed to manage their own

Open Document