08 June 2008
The Supreme Court and Civil Rights
(The following article is taken from the U.S. Department of State publication, How the United States is Governed.)
The Supreme Court's role as an equal partner in government was solidified by the famous case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803. In this case, the Supreme Court for the first time declared a law passed by Congress and signed by the President unconstitutional, thereby nullifying the law. Rather than being simply a court that interprets the law, the Supreme Court has the power to void laws.
Although it was 54 years before the Supreme Court declared another law unconstitutional, it has become increasingly active since the middle of the 20th Century, especially in the area of civil rights. A succession of landmark cases was a driving force in the expansion of rights for minorities and protections for defendants in criminal cases. Many of these, though controversial at the time, are now praised as enduring victories over injustice. The following are examples of some cases that had a lasting impact:
• In 1954, the court held in Brown v. Board of Education that having separate schools for whites and blacks was inherently unequal, and resulted in a massive desegregation effort in public schools.
• In 1956, the court upheld a lower court ruling overturning state laws that discriminated against minorities. Practices such as forcing blacks to sit at the back of buses (the situation that originated the case) were outlawed.
• In the 1967 Miranda v. Arizona case, the court held that individuals in police custody must be told of their rights to remain silent and to have legal counsel. These rights are now known as "Miranda rights."
In these and many other important cases, the Supreme Court overturned state and local laws and practices that had the effect of denying minorities equal rights under the law. An important basis for these decisions was the Fourteenth Amendment, which states in part:
"No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
"... the judiciary is the safeguard of our liberty and our property under the
Constitution."
Charles Evans Hughes, Chief Justice of the
United States, 1930-1941
