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Constitutional Law Keyed to Chemerinsky
Plessy v. Ferguson
Citation:
163 U.S. 537 (1896)InstructorMatthew Steinberg
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
The State of Louisiana passed a law, providing for separate railway carriages for the white and colored races. The statute provided equal but separate accommodations for different races and that no person shall occupy seats in couches, other than ones assigned to them on account of the race they belong to. The petitioners included one-eight African blood but the mixture of colored blood was not discernible in him. He took possession of a vacant seat in a couch that belonged to the white and when he was ordered to vacate the couch and take a seat in another, he refused. He was subsequently ejected by the police and imprisoned.
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Topic Resources
Topic Outline
Equal ProtectionTopic Refresher Course
Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment