Constitutional Law Keyed to Cohen
Plessy v. Ferguson
InstructorMatthew Steinberg
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
The Petitioner brought an action alleging a statute that required separate railway cars for whites and colored races violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The Petitioner was jailed after refusing to leave a railway car that permitted only whites. The Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) determined that the purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment was only to enforce the equality of the races and this amendment did not encompass abolishing all classifications made on race. The Supreme Court said in this case the standard of review was whether the statute was a reasonable regulation recognizing a large discretion on the part of the legislature. The Supreme Court found the law that separates the races to be reasonable based on established usages, customs and traditions of the country.
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