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Briggs v. Elliott

United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina · 1955 · Constitutional Law

Constitutional LawEqual ProtectionSchool DesegregationFourteenth AmendmentEqual Protectionpublic schoolsracial discriminationsegregation

Facts

In its earlier decisions, this court had followed Supreme Court precedents permitting racial segregation in public schools so long as equal facilities were provided. The Supreme Court later reversed and remanded, directing this court to enter orders necessary to admit the parties to public schools on a racially nondiscriminatory basis with all deliberate speed. On remand, the court considered what decree should be entered under the Supreme Court's mandate. The challenged South Carolina laws required segregation of the races in public schools.

Issue

What decree should the district court enter, consistent with the Supreme Court's mandate, regarding South Carolina laws requiring racial segregation in public schools? More specifically, what does the Supreme Court's decision require and what limits does it place on judicial and state action in implementing a racially nondiscriminatory school system?

Rule

A state may not, directly or indirectly, deny any person on account of race the right to attend any public school it maintains. The Constitution does not require integration or forbid voluntary racial separation; it forbids the use of governmental power to enforce segregation. In implementing these principles, school authorities bear the primary responsibility for solving local problems, and courts must assess whether their actions constitute good faith implementation, requiring a prompt and reasonable start toward full compliance with all deliberate speed.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Jackson, Mississippi, the Red Clay County School Board announces that every public school is funded equally and staffed comparably, but it adopts a rule that students may enroll only in schools designated for their race. Maya Turner, a qualified student, is denied admission to a nearby school solely because she is Black.

Under the governing rule, which is the best assessment of Maya's claim?

Explanation. The controlling rule is that a state may not deny any person, on account of race, the right to attend any public school it maintains. The opinion rejects the older equal-facilities approach and treats state laws or policies requiring racial segregation as void. It does not condition relief on proof of unequal funding or immediate compulsory mixing. (Derived from Briggs v. Elliott (1955).)