The Supreme Court has always made decisions that have had lasting impacts on society. ¬A time period during which this was particularly true was the period between the years 1953 and 1969, when the Chief Justice of the court was Earl Warren. Under his influence, the court made a number of legal decisions that continue to hold significance in American society today. Such court cases include Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and Miranda v. Arizona (1966).
The issue of segregation has long been a part of American society, especially in the South. In the early to the mid-twentieth century, Jim Crow laws kept a rigid separation between black and white. Even Supreme Court cases such Plessy v. Ferguson made segregation constitutional, providing …show more content…
The ‘equality’ looked good on paper but reality was rarely the case, especially when it came to schools. Substandard buildings, supplies, and transportation often made the educational experience for African Americans inferior to whites. It wasn’t until 1954 with the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in schools was made unconstitutional (Document 2), based on the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. In order to become integrated, some schools were forced to resort to bussing their students in from other areas (Document 3a) – although the ruling took care of ‘de jure’ integration of society (that which is imposed by the federal court system), it did little to immediately reverse the ‘de facto’ segregation of society, especially in the South (‘de facto’ implies that which has become the unwritten law of social classes and segregated residential areas themselves). Long-term effects of the decision were more dramatic, however. In the long run Brown v. Board of Education helped to create a black middle class (Document 3b) by providing legal means for African Americans to demonstrate their equality. For a long time, many …show more content…
Arizona (1966). This decision, generally speaking, defined the rights of the accused after an appeal was made on behalf of Ernesto Miranda. It said, among other things, that each person accused of a crime has the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney (Document 7). The tradition of these Miranda rights has become common knowledge in American society, despite the fact that some people believe that they are generally too lenient and often hamper the justice system’s ability to convict guilty criminals of their crimes (Documents 5a & 5b). The Supreme Court has failed to see adequate need for reversal of this decision, despite the dramatic odds that lie in favour of the accused as a result of the decision, and the fact that the victim is often left without help when the offender is not convicted. In a recent case, the Supreme Court ruled that the Miranda decision was too deeply rooted in history to overturn (Document 9). Miranda v. Arizona (1966) was clearly an impactful long-lasted Warren Court decision that will not likely lose its significance in the near future due to its enforcement of the 5th and 14th
The issue of segregation has long been a part of American society, especially in the South. In the early to the mid-twentieth century, Jim Crow laws kept a rigid separation between black and white. Even Supreme Court cases such Plessy v. Ferguson made segregation constitutional, providing …show more content…
The ‘equality’ looked good on paper but reality was rarely the case, especially when it came to schools. Substandard buildings, supplies, and transportation often made the educational experience for African Americans inferior to whites. It wasn’t until 1954 with the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in schools was made unconstitutional (Document 2), based on the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. In order to become integrated, some schools were forced to resort to bussing their students in from other areas (Document 3a) – although the ruling took care of ‘de jure’ integration of society (that which is imposed by the federal court system), it did little to immediately reverse the ‘de facto’ segregation of society, especially in the South (‘de facto’ implies that which has become the unwritten law of social classes and segregated residential areas themselves). Long-term effects of the decision were more dramatic, however. In the long run Brown v. Board of Education helped to create a black middle class (Document 3b) by providing legal means for African Americans to demonstrate their equality. For a long time, many …show more content…
Arizona (1966). This decision, generally speaking, defined the rights of the accused after an appeal was made on behalf of Ernesto Miranda. It said, among other things, that each person accused of a crime has the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney (Document 7). The tradition of these Miranda rights has become common knowledge in American society, despite the fact that some people believe that they are generally too lenient and often hamper the justice system’s ability to convict guilty criminals of their crimes (Documents 5a & 5b). The Supreme Court has failed to see adequate need for reversal of this decision, despite the dramatic odds that lie in favour of the accused as a result of the decision, and the fact that the victim is often left without help when the offender is not convicted. In a recent case, the Supreme Court ruled that the Miranda decision was too deeply rooted in history to overturn (Document 9). Miranda v. Arizona (1966) was clearly an impactful long-lasted Warren Court decision that will not likely lose its significance in the near future due to its enforcement of the 5th and 14th