Regents Review
Supreme Court Cases
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896
Background
On June 7, 1892, a 30 year old black
shoemaker named Plessy was jailed for
sitting in the “White” car on the Louisiana
Railroad train.
 He was only 1/8 black, but under Louisiana
law he was considered black.
 Jim Crow laws established in the South
after Reconstruction. Forbade blacks from
sharing facilities.

Background (continued)
Plessy sued the railroad company claiming
that the Separate Car Act violated the 13th
and 14th amendments.
 14th amendment- equal protection under the
law.

The Decision
States can regulate railroads within their
state.
 Set precedent that separate facilities for
blacks and whites were constitutional.
 “Separate but Equal” doctrine applied to
restaurants, theatres, restrooms, schools.
 Lasted for 58 years until Brown v. Board of
Ed.

Impact of Plessy
Court went beyond decision.
 Civil Rights Acts unconstitutional.
 Legal justification for Jim Crow Laws.
 Reconstruction failed socially

Brown v. Board of Education
1954
Background
Linda Brown a young black student wanted
to attend an all white school in Topeka,
Kansas rather than the black school further
away.
 Based on Plessy case- refused Brown’s
request.
 NAACP appealed her case to the Supreme
Court.

Decision
Warren Court
 Unanimous decision reversed Plessy.
 Separate is not equal- separate facilities are
inherently unequal and violate the 14th
amendment’s clause to equal protection.

Impact
African Americans began to take direct
action to end segregation.
 Boycotts and sit ins: restaurants, buses,
schools.
 Rosa Parks- Montgomery Bus Boycott
 Little Rock, Arkansas- 1957
 Martin Luther King Jr.: passive resistance
and civil disobedience.

New Jersey v. T.L.O.
1985
Background
A teacher found 14 year old TLO smoking
in a school bathroom.
 TLO was taken to the Assistant Principal’s
office.
 TLO denied she had been smoking.
 The Assistant Principal then searched her
purse.
 Found- cigarettes and drug paraphernalia.
 Parents said the search violated her 4th
amendment rights because they did not have
a warrant.

Decision
4th amendment applies to school officials,
but that the search of TLO was reasonable.
 School officials do not have to meet the
same standards as police officers when
conducting searches.
 Police officers need “probable cause” and
school officials need the lesser standard of
“reasonable suspicion.”

Impact
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Became a precedent for future students rights
cases (Bethel v. Frasier).
“reaffirmed that the constitutional rights of
students in public school are not automatically
coextensive with the rights of adults in other
settings.
Decision was used in cases to allow the use of
metal detectors and protective searches in schools.
Court has linked such searches with airport
scanning and highway checkpoints for drunk
drivers.
Schenck v. U.S.
1919
Background
Espionage Act of 1917- harsh penalties for
anyone who interfered with the draft.
 Charles Schenck- General Secretary of the
Socialist Party in the U.S. Outspoken critic
of WWI.
 Printed 15,000 copies of an anti-war/antidraft pamphlet. Some mailed and some
handed out.
 Arrested under the Espionage Act. Argued
his 1st Amendment rights were violated.

Decision
Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said
the pamphlets posed a “clear and present
danger” of causing draft resistance.
 Threat to our national security.

Impact
Established limits on free speech. Right is
not absolute, but depends on the
circumstances.
 Speech can be restricted during wartime.
 Established “clear and present danger”
precedent.
 Cannot yell fire in a crowded movie theatre.

Roe v. Wade
1973
Background
Texas law made abortion a crime except
when necessary to save the life of the
mother.
 Jane Roe an unmarried pregnant woman
brought suit against District Attorney Wade
of Dallas County.
 Since her life was not in danger she had
been unable to obtain an abortion.
 Challenged the Texas law- rights of women.

Decision
14th amendment rights of privacy
encompasses a woman’s right to terminate a
pregnancy.
 1st trimester- unrestricted right- government
cannot interfere.
 2nd trimester- State can make reasonable
regulations on how, when and where.
 3rd trimester- only to save the life of the
mother.

Impact
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Court has faced a number of challenges on Roe
case. As court changes so do the rulings.
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania
v. Casey (1992)- Court upheld:
24 hour wait
Mandatory counseling
Unmarried and under 18- parent consent
Doctors and clinics must keep detailed records.
Court did strike down another Pennsylvania law
requiring a wife to have a husbands permission.