Draft:Cooper v. Aaron

Cooper v. Aaron (1958)

Background/history

In Cooper v. Aaron (1958) the Arkansas school board tried to slow down the racial desegregation by 30 months after the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that the school board had no right to delay the process. In Little Rock, Arkansas, many state officials and the governor were against desegregation. There were nine African American students also known as the "Little Rock Nine," tried to attend a previous all white high school. However, the governor of Arkansas used the National guard to prevent the African American students from entering the high school. At the time, President Eisenhower then had to intervene by sending federal troops to Arkansas to enforce the desegregation order.

Legal Issue

State officials from Arkansas claimed that the Supreme Court's decision of overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine. Arkansas argued that states have the right to control their own educational systems, which mostly known as Federalism. The Arkansas school board attempted to delay the process of desegregation, but their plan failed. Arkansas's plan to delay desegregation by 30 months failed due to the Court having final say.

Supreme Court's Ruling: "Per Curiam Opinion"

See also: Supremacy Clause and Rule of law

On September 12, 1958, all nine Justices came together with a "Per curiam decision," instead of writing a so called "Majority opinion." The term "per curiam opinion" (latin for "by the court") which refers to an opinion that is written collectively by all justices, rather than having one assigned justice writing the opinion. This type of opinion is used in some cases where the justices believes the decision does not require a long majority opinion due to the decision being straightforward.

With a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the Court's authority. The court had made three main points during their decision making. First the Supreme Court mentioned the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution (Article VI, Clause 2), which establishes that all federal laws are the "supreme law of the land." Another word for this is Federal preemption, which means that the U.S. Constitution and Federal laws override state laws. Second, the Court held that the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education was considered binding to all states. If a state decided to go against or ignore Court's ruling, they would have to face consequences. Lastly, the Court went over the rule of law, regarding that all public officials state or federal are bound by the U.S. Constitution.

Concurring Opinion

Justice Frankfurter member of the Warren Court, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt chose to speak more on Arkansas's defiance. In the concurring opinion Felix Frankfurter had no intention to contradict the Per curiam decision, he simply wanted to share his own personal opinion on his complete disagreement with the Arkansas State Legislature. Justice Frankfurter decided to release his concurring opinion a little after the per curiam opinion. Frankfurter wanted to reemphasize the true importance of judicial supremacy and upholding the Constitution. The concurring opinion went in depth that the Supreme Court's main role is to interpret the Constitution, a power that came directly from the landmark case Marbury v. Madison.

Significance

Cooper v. Aaron was able to reaffirm the principle that the Supreme Court's decision has the final say, overriding all state and public officials. This case provided a clear message that any Supreme Court rulings are considered final say and whatever state or individual who tries to go against that will be deemed unconstitutional. Cooper v. Aaron was a critical movement during this time and paved the way for the Federal government to primitive civil rights, especially in the South.