Plessy v. Ferguson
| Plessy v. Ferguson | |
|---|---|
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| Argued April 13, 1896 Decided May 18, 1896 |
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| Full case name | Homer A. Plessy v. John H. Ferguson |
| Citations | 163 U.S. 537 (more)
16 S. Ct. 1138; 41 L. Ed. 256; 1896 U.S. LEXIS 3390
|
| Prior history | Ex parte Plessy, 11 So. 948 (La. 1892) |
| Subsequent history | None |
| Holding | |
| The "separate but equal" provision of private services mandated by state government is constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Brown, joined by Fuller, Field, Gray, Shiras, White, Peckham |
| Dissent | Harlan |
| Brewer took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV; 1890 La. Acts 152 | |
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Overruled by
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| Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954) | |
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896) was a landmark constitutional law case of the US Supreme Court. It upheld state racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal". The decision was handed down by a vote of 7 to 1 with the majority opinion written by Justice Henry Billings Brown and the dissent written by Justice John Marshall Harlan.
"Separate but equal" remained standard doctrine in U.S. law until its repudiation in the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. After the Supreme Court ruling, the New Orleans Comité des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens), which had brought the suit and had arranged for Homer Plessy's arrest in an act of civil disobedience to challenge Louisiana's segregation law, stated, "We, as freemen, still believe that we were right and our cause is sacred."
In 1890, the state of Louisiana passed a law (the Separate Car Act) that required separate accommodations for blacks and whites on railroads, including separate railway cars. Concerned, a group of prominent black, creole, and white New Orleans residents formed the Comité des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens) dedicated to repeal the law or fight its effect. They persuaded Homer Plessy, a man of mixed race, to participate in an orchestrated test case. Plessy was born a free man and was an "octoroon" (of seven-eighths European descent and one-eighth African descent). However, under Louisiana law, he was classified as black, and thus required to sit in the "colored" car.
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