Cooper v. Aaron (1958) In Cooper v. Aaron (1958), the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Arkansas could not pass legislation undermining the Court's ruling in Brown v. Governor Orval Faubus had deployed the National Guard in order to aid the protestors in their efforts to physically restrict the black students from entering the school. The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land; Supreme Court Cases are binding upon all the States. This plan called for the slow integration of one high school, Little Rock Central, followed by the opening of a few junior high schools to a small number of black students over the next few years. Even if those states disagree, they have no authority to create legislation that goes against the federal law because they are bound to it. Cooper v. Aaron (1958) was a case pitting thirty-three African American students from Little Rock, represented by the local branch of the NAACP, against the Little Rock School District which denied them access to local high schools despite federal court orders mandating school desegregation. The suit was challenged by Aaron (defendant), representing African American children in Arkansas. It also allowed for students to transfer to schools outside of their assigned school zone. COOPER v. AARON AND THE FACES OF FEDERALISM ASHUTOSH BHAGWAT* The story of Cooper v. AaronI and the Little Rock desegregation crisis has many dimensions, one of the most important of which relates to federalism. The Supreme Court and the lower federal courts have consistently held that the power to declare federal laws unconstitutional lies with the federal judiciary, not with the states. “Cooper v. Aaron and Judicial Authority: Lessons From Little Rock”, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-bernick/cooper-v-aaron-and-judici_b_8233796.html, https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/358/1/case.html. Whoever denies or takes away the equal protection of the laws violates the constitutional inhibition. was a unanimous, landmark case, it was not the last desegregation case seen in court. 462 2 Under directive to district courts to require prompt and reasonable start toward desegregation of public schools and to take such action as was necessary to bring about end of Summer 2016: Sarah Skinner, Allyce Lee, Imani Brown. The governor continued to deny the students access into Central High School for three weeks. The Little Rock school board, represented by Cooper (plaintiff), brought suit in federal district court seeking a postponement of the desegregation plan in the state due to the uneasy circumstances present. Even if those states disagree, they have no authority to create legislation that goes against the federal law because they are bound to it. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT. Because of this continuous lack of support from the state and general public, the Little Rock School Board wanted to postpone the plan for two and a half years. Blog. This decision established the fundamental idea that the Supreme Court has the final say in the interpretation of the of the law of the Constitution. Supreme Court of the United States . The main reason being that the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution is in fact the “law of the land”. Gillman, Howard, Mark A. Graber, and Keith E. Whittington. In an unanimous decision by the Supreme Court, it was found that the efforts made by the school board and the district courts of Arkansas to resist plans to desegregate schools was unconstitutional. Cooper v. Aaron: Summary, Decision & Importance Next Lesson. Many different methods of desegregation were discussed but in the end, the Blossom Plan, proposed by superintendent Virgil Blossom, was to be set in motion. In a 1955 follow-up decision (Brown v. Because of this continuous lack of support from the state and general publi… With references to Marbury v Madison, the court justified their decision by declaring that the judiciary held supreme authority in regards to the interpretation of the Constitution. In the landmark decision of Cooper v Aaron, the Supreme Court asserted that their rulings of the Constitution is binding on all government actors.The case followed the Brown v Board of Education decision where segregation of schools was deemed unconstitutional. On August 21, 1958, the Court of Appeals stayed its mandate. Aaron v. Cooper, 243 F.2d 361; Thomason v. Cooper, 254 F.2d 808 (April 28, 1958); Faubus v. United States, 254 F.2d 797 (April 28, 1958). has been declared as a landmark decision and has had a strong impact on American society. It was still challenged by many states opposed to integration, and the process of desegregation moved at a slower pace than many had imagined. On September 12, 1958, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals in the per curiam opinion. The school board’s request was originally granted by the District Court of the Eastern District of Arkansas but later reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and ultimately ended up being argued in front of the United States Supreme Court. This process was estimated to be completed by 1963, which the plaintiffs did not think was quick enough. President Eisenhower had already intervened and sent The primary defendant in the case was local school board president William G. Cooper. On February 20, 1958, the School Board and the Superintendent of the Schools filed a petition to postpone the program of desegregation. The Supreme Court was unanimous in the decision that their interpretation of the US Constitution is the “law of the land” and should be followed the way that they interpret it. On September 12, 1958, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals in the per curiam opinion. 1957, as the Little Rock Nine were attempting to enter Little Rock Central High School for the first time as students, they were met by the forceful presence of the Arkansas National Guard as well as many segregationist protesters. They argued that it was causing insufferable conditions in Little Rock and chaos amongst the people. Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, which denied the Arkansas School Board the right to delay desegregation for 30 months. to permit the School Board to petition this Court for certiorari. September 29, 1958. the Supreme Court asserted that their rulings of the Constitution is binding on all government actors.The case followed the. In Arkansas, the Little Rock School Board initially agreed to accept the Supreme Court’s decision and planned to start desegregating schools by the fall of 1957. Cooper decides to reverse earlier plans and resist the Supreme Court's order to desegregate schools, arguing that public (and political) hostility had made it dangerous to do so Governor Orval Faubus led opposition to desegregation and helped the legislature pass a law making attendance at an integrated school. On August 21, 1958, the Court of Appeals stayed its mandate to permit the School Board to petition this Court for certiorari. No. Court concludes that Little Rock ISD must follow their orders, arguing that they couldn't disregard the law to keep law and order. Although it was approved by the District Courts, the respondents brought the case to the Court of Appeals in order to reverse the decision. In Arkansas, the Little Rock School Board initially agreed to accept the Supreme Court’s decision and planned to start desegregating schools by the fall of 1957. These plans continued to be thwarted because of the actions of the the governor and state officials. By ruling of the Supreme Court, it was now deemed unconstitutional to have segregation in public schools as it violated African American’s 14. amendment rights to equal protection. In Cooper v. In particular, the consensus understanding is that Little Rock was a story of federalism gone spectacularly wrong. Cooper v. Aaron. Cooper v. Aaron-suggested how much African American agency has been essential to attaining equal constitutional guarantees of individual opportuni-* Tony A. Freyer is University Research Professor of History and Law at the Universi-ty of Alabama. The command of the Fourteenth Amendment is that no “State” shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”, Justice Frankfurter wrote a concurring opinion in which he further argues the importance of judicial supremacy and expresses his contempt for the decisions made by Arkansas State Legislators. This decision established the fundamental idea that the Supreme Court has the final say in the interpretation of the of the law of the Constitution. Available at: https://books.google.com/books/about/American_Constitutionalism.html?id=NbavMQEACAAJ&hl=en, Little Rock on Trial: Cooper v Aaron and desegregation. Furthermore, states must work to enforce these decisions even if the they do not agree with them. Marbury v Madison went from a case that established judicial review to a case that granted judicial supremacy to the Supreme Court. This addition set up huge limits to the effects of the desegregation ruling by allowing white students to purposefully congregate in one school over the other. COOPER V. AARON. This documentary explores the Supreme Court cases Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) and Cooper v. Aaron (1958) that defined our understanding of the role of the judiciary. In the unanimous decision signed by each Supreme Court Justice, the Court ruled that the state and state officials must follow the Court’s interpretation of the Constitution because theirs is the “supreme law of the land”. 1, Misc., August Special Term, 1958, Aaron et al. States were not going to be able to create any form of legislation that opposed desegregation because the Supreme Court deemed their interpretations of the 14th Amendment the “law of the land”, meaning that all citizens should have access to equal education. Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958), was a landmark case in which the Little Rock school board tried to stop school desegregation. This then led it to be brought to the Supreme Court. States were not going to be able to create any form of legislation that opposed desegregation because the Supreme Court deemed their interpretations of the 14, Amendment the “law of the land”, meaning that all citizens should have access to equal education. The Supreme court not only argued for judicial supremacy as established in Marbury v Madison, they also argued that the act of barring black children from public schools was an infringement on their fourteenth amendment rights and therefore, in direct violation of the U.S. constitution. Pending the filing of the School Board’s petition for certiorari, the respondents, on August 23, 1958, applied to Mr. Justice Whittaker, as Circuit Justice for the Eighth Circuit, to stay the order of the Court of Appeals withholding its own mandate, and also to stay the District Court’s judgment. It necessarily involves a claim by the Governor and Legislature of a State that there is no duty on state officials to obey federal court orders resting on this Court’s considered interpretation of the United States Constitution…We reject these contentions” (Justia.com, 2016). Even though. The Supreme Court's Brown decision of 1954, holding that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal and therefore violated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause, precipitated the Little Rock School Board's efforts to comply. 1, Misc., August Special Term, 1958, Aaron et al. Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S.C. 1958, the Little Rock school board filed a lawsuit in the Arkansas district court requesting an immediate end to the desegregation process. Available at: https://books.google.com/books/about/Little_Rock_on_Trial.html?id=rdiPAAAAMAAJ, American Constitutional Law: Sources of Power and Restraint, Volume I. , Suzanne Jeans Publisher, 2012. Since then, this idea of judicial supremacy has “been respected by this Court and the Country as a permanent and indispensable feature of our constitutional system” (Stephens, 2012). The respondents appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and also sought a stay on the District Court decision. Governor Orval Faubus had deployed the National Guard in order to aid the protestors in their efforts to physically restrict the black students from entering the school. Justice Frankfurter wrote a concurring opinion in which he further argues the importance of judicial supremacy and expresses his contempt for the decisions made by Arkansas State Legislators. 1 (1958) In the 1958 decision Cooper v. Aaron, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a decision by the state government of Arkansas to suspend the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Warren Court (1957-1958). Cooper v. Aaron; Cooper v. Aaron (1958) The Warren Court Argued: 09/11/1958 Decided: 09/12/1958 Vote: Unanimous Majority: Constitutional Provisions: The Supremacy Clause: Art. After failing to do so they filed a lawsuit on February 8th 1956 and enrolled nine students of excellent academic standing (later dubbed the Little Rock Nine) in Little Rock Central High School. Statement of the Facts: In 1954, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decided the famous Brown v. Board of Education decision, which held that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. This addition set up huge limits to the effects of the desegregation ruling by allowing white students to purposefully congregate in one school over the other. Facts. September 11, 1958 On September 4th 1957, as the Little Rock Nine were attempting to enter Little Rock Central High School for the first time as students, they were met by the forceful presence of the Arkansas National Guard as well as many segregationist protesters. The District Court then filed a preliminary injunction on September 20, 1957,ordering the Governor and the National Guard to discontinue preventing the students from entering the school and interfering with the plan of desegregation. Granted, Cooper v.Aaron did not immediately or thoroughly foster public education's desegregation. President Dwight Eisenhower responded to this blatant denial of rights by not only deploying units of the 101st Airborne Division, but also by federalizing the Arkansas National Guard. Call Number/Physical Location In particular, the consensus understanding is that Little Rock was a story of federalism gone spectacularly wrong. Available at: https://books.google.com/books/about/American_Constitutional_Law_Sources_of_P.html?id=lZtSh61ljxgC, 14th Amendment of U.S. Constitution (1868). The decision of the Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas to dispatch units of the Arkansas National Guard to the school grounds in order to block efforts of desegregation. This case was seen as being a great eye-opener for many states thinking about challenging the plans of desegregation. As in Cooper v. Aaron (1958), the Court asserted its primacy in matters of constitutional interpretation and struck down a governmental act that challenged that primacy. - Description: U.S. Reports Volume 358; August Special Term, 1958; Cooper et al., Members of the Board of Directors of the Little Rock, Arkansas, Independent School District, et al. The District Court granted this request. Their reasoning for this was that the presence of the African American students, public hostility of the program, and the past actions of the governor had an effect on the educational program at Central High School. As this case reaches us it raises questions of the highest importance to the maintenance of our federal system of government. COOPER v. AARON(1958) No. The Court of Appeals did not act on the petition for a stay, but, on August 18, 1958, after convening in special session on August 4 and hearing the appeal, reversed the District Court decision. Even though Cooper v Aaron was a unanimous, landmark case, it was not the last desegregation case seen in court. Cooper v. Aaron. Not only did it infringe on the people’s 14th amendment rights to equal protection, the state’s willingness to defy the ruling of the Supreme Court was in direct opposition of the judicial supremacy ruling of Marbury v Madison. These nine students were told that the high school was “off limits” to any colored students. On September 7, 1957, the District Court denied a petition by the School Board requesting an order for a temporary suspension of the program. Although it was approved by the District Courts, the respondents brought the case to the Court of Appeals in order to reverse the decision. United States Supreme Court. This case was seen as being a great eye-opener for many states thinking about challenging the plans of desegregation. The school board’s request was originally granted by the District Court of the Eastern District of Arkansas but later reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and ultimately ended up being argued in front of the United States Supreme Court. Is the state and its officials required to follow the Supreme Court’s decisions and their interpretations of the Constitution? 1956 and enrolled nine students of excellent academic standing (later dubbed the Little Rock Nine) in Little Rock Central High School. 1. 2d 5 (1958), Available at : https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8453213781987973736&q=cooper+v+aaron&hl, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=741. 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