Supreme Court Case Of Plessy Vs. Ferguson

Plessy V. Ferguson-

Topics
1. An Eventful Ride
2. Free Colored People
3. The Separate Car Act
4. Plessy Case
5. The Verdict (Louisiana Supreme Court
6. Back to Ferguson’s Court

An Eventful Ride
On June 7, 1892, respected admired New Orleans merchant Homer Plessy, in his 30, hopped on a train at the Press Street depot in New Orleans, on the way to Covington, Louisiana, couple of hours away. Plessy had purchased a first-class ticket, and was resembling the people sitting the in the first-class compartments. He was dressed in a suit, and a hat as per the fashion of the white in those days. Amongst all the people in the white only car, Plessy was light skinned and was ready for an unexciting ride of the train. He did not have
The State of Louisiana began before Judge John Howard Ferguson in the state criminal district court. It had been only four months that Ferguson was serving for New Orleans when Plessy case came in front of him. The defense were not wanting to win in the at the local court, and also expected to lose appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court, as they wanted to take their case to the US Supreme Court, and spread the message of opposing Segregation across the whole nation. Lawyers from both the sides had given the concise information about the case to Judge Ferguson, and now at the court the lawyers would present the arguments on that in front of Ferguson and he will decide and announce that should the case go to trial or if it should be sent away. Defense advocate James C. Walker claimed that Plessy’s imprisonment offended his constitutional rights, especially Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. He argued that by forcing Plessy to get down of the whites-only car putting one of the “badges of slavery” that was expressly proscribed by the Thirteenth Amendment. Just because of his race, he was treated as just as the slaves were treated. He also claimed that the Fourteenth Amendment insured Plessy the same civil rights and liberties as per the law for any US citizen. He said that the Separate Car Act did the same for Plessy. In addition to that, Walker believed that the case should not have even go into the court, but
The verdict unanimously against Plessy. Justice Charles E. Fenner conveyed down the court’s judgement. He cited numerous past decisions to support the opinion of the court. A case that was cited by him implied that some of the differences between whites and black were created by God. He quoted the decision by Justice Agnew. Agnew also announced that the difference between the blacks and whites were so serious that their separation on the public transport was “the subject of a sound regulation to secure order, promote comfort, preserve the peace, and maintain the rights bot of passengers and carriers.” Ultimately, Separate Car Act was found legal because the segregation on public transport was “in the interest of public order, peace and comfort.” He announced that the laws for both the whites and blacks would be same as it would be penalty for both the races if law would be violated by them, and so the Separate Car Act would be continued. Plessy’s lawyer- Walker and his team felt that the case is not yet dismissed in the state Supreme Court. The Committee wanted the case to go to the highest court of the nation to test constitutionality of the Separate Car Act. A win at the Us Supreme Court would give the authority to make the Jim Crow illegal throughout the nation. On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court ruled on the Plessy case. It was almost four years after Plessy had disclose to the train conductor that