Civil Rights Court Cases Go to Create a chart of the court cases – summarizing the facts & conclusion Court CaseDate Decided FactsQuestionConclusion Brown v. Board of Education (I) Hernandez v. Texas Sweatt v. Painter Tinker v. Des Moines Wisconsin v. Yoder

Court CaseDate Decided FactsQuestionConclusion Brown v. Board of Education (I) May 17, 1954 Hernandez v. Texas Sweatt v. Painter Tinker v. Des Moines Wisconsin v. Yoder

Court CaseDate Decided FactsQuestionConclusion Brown v. Board of Education (I) May 17, 1954 Black children could not attend white schools, facilities not equal Hernandez v. Texas Sweatt v. Painter Tinker v. Des Moines Wisconsin v. Yoder

Court CaseDate Decided FactsQuestionConclusion Brown v. Board of Education (I) May 17, 1954 Black children could not attend white schools, facilities not equal Does the segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprive the minority children of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment? Hernandez v. Texas Sweatt v. Painter Tinker v. Des Moines Wisconsin v. Yoder

Court CaseDate Decided FactsQuestionConclusion Brown v. Board of Education (I) May 17, 1954 Black children could not attend white schools, facilities not equal Does the segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprive the minority children of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment? Racial segregation in public education has a detrimental effect on minority children because it is interpreted as a sign of inferiority. Separate but equal is inherently unequal in the context of public education. Hernandez v. Texas Sweatt v. Painter Tinker v. Des Moines Wisconsin v. Yoder

Hernandez v. Texas May 3, 1954 Hispanic agricultural worker was indicted for murder by an all white jury. Is it a denial of the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection clause to try a defendant of a particular race or ethnicity before a jury where all persons of his race or ancestry have, because of that race or ethnicity, been excluded by the state? Mexican Americans were a "special class" entitled to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Court CaseDate Decided FactsQuestionConclusion

Court CaseDate Decided FactsQuestionConclusion Sweatt v. Painter April 4, 1950 UT Law School rejected Sweatt’s application because he was black. A separate law school was created. Did the Texas admissions scheme violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? Equal Protection Clause required that Sweatt be admitted to the university, the separate school would be inferior in a number of areas.

Court CaseDate Decided FactsQuestionConclusion Tinker v. Des Moines February 4, 1969 Three students decided along with their parents to protest the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to school. They were suspended for not removing the armbands. Does a prohibition against the wearing of armbands in public school, as a form of symbolic protest, violate the First Amendment's freedom of speech protections? The wearing of armbands was "closely akin to 'pure speech'" and protected by the First Amendment. Schools may imply limitations on free expression, only if the forbidden conduct would interfere with school discipline.

Court CaseDate Decided FactsQuestionConclusion Wisconsin v. Yoder May 15, 1972 Three parents refused to send their children to public school after the eighth grade, arguing that high school attendance was contrary to their religious beliefs. Did Wisconsin's requirement that all parents send their children to school at least until age 16 violate the First Amendment by criminalizing the conduct of parents who refused to send their children to school for religious reasons? Individual's interests in the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment outweighed the State's interests in compelling school attendance beyond the eighth grade.