STAAR Exam Legal Cases

Cases you WILL be tested on: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” schools were OK; basically justified __________. Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Supreme Court ruled state laws allowing separate black & white schools were unconstitutional; basically overturned ________ v. __________

Cases you might be tested on: Tinker v. Des Moines School District (1969) Hernandez v. Texas (1954) Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) White v. Regester (1973) Mendez v. Westminster (1947) Delgado v. Bastrop ISD (1948) Edgewood ISD v. Kirby (1984) Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

Mendez v. Westminster (1947), page 307 in Jarrett book At the time, California required Mexican-Americans to go to separate schools This requirement was protected by state law (sort of, see below) Mexican-American parents challenged this arrangement California law required Asian students to be segregated but not Mexican-Americans 9 th Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of parents; CA repeals law soon after Case did NOT go to Supreme Court, but was a victory for Civil Rights

Delgado v. Bastrop ISD (1948), page 308 Again, Mexican-American parents sue a school district for segregation against Mex-Americans (this time in Texas!) A U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the parents & ordered school district to end segregation of Mex-American students Case did NOT go to Supreme Court

Hernandez v. Texas (1954), page 308 Pete Hernandez was convicted of murder in Texas by an all-white jury Hernandez appealed to U.S. Supreme Court claiming his rights under the 14 th Amendment had been violated Texas argued that Mexicans where white, and thus not entitled to any special protections SC ruled in favor of Hernandez, saying he had the right to be tried “by juries from which members of his class are not excluded”

14 th Amendment Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

White v. Regester (1973), page 308 In 1970, the Texas legislature changed its district boundaries (which it does a lot) Opponents claimed that Texas had specifically changed the boundaries to ensure minority candidates could not win elections U.S. Supreme Court agreed and ordered Texas to restructure boundaries to make it more likely for minority (esp Mexican) candidates to get elected

Edgewood ISD v. Kirby (1984), page 308 Before the ‘80s, Texas schools were financed by local taxes A Mexican-American legal group claimed this was unfair to poorer school districts & sued the Texas Education Commissioner (Kirby) The Texas Supreme Court agreed, saying the way schools were financed violated the Texas Constitution which guarantees a “fair and efficient” education for all Texans Texas was ordered to find a better way to finance public schools (which led to the “Robin Hood Plan”

Assessment: Ok, now match the court cases on page 309

Sweatt v. Painter (1950), page 273 NAACP sued the University of Texas at Austin law school Heman Sweatt had applied but was told he would have to attend a separate, all-black UT Law School (UT made one just for him, how nice!) US Supreme Court ruled failed as a “separate but equal” facility since Sweatt needed adequate facilities to train as a lawyer

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), page 331 John Tinker & his sister were suspended for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War Supreme Court ruled that this suspension was a violation of Tinker’s _______ Amendment Rights Do you agree?

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), page 331 Supreme Court struck down a Wisconsin state law requiring Amish children to attend school beyond grade 8 The Court claimed that this violated the ________ Amendment Why would they say this? Do you agree?

1 st Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Other cases: Bush v. Gore (2000): Supreme Court ordered an end to the recount deciding the 2000 presidential election, allowing G.W. Bush to be elected as 41 st president