Evening star., 1954-05-23
The Five Cases

HS rive NOSGS
Where such cases as Sipuel,
McLaurin and S,Deatt (see box)
had to do with the efforts of
Negroes to get higher education
within the Plessy framework, the
five cases that brought about last
weeks decisions dealt with lower
level education and the legality of
Plessy ITSELF.
Four of the cases, dealing with
mandatory segregation in Della
ware, Virginia and South Carolina,
and with "local option segrega-
tion in Kansas, were based on the
18th Amendment.
That amendment, passed after
the Civil War to secure rights of
citizenship to Negroes, provides
that mo State shall make or en-
force any law which shall abridge
the privileges or immunitieS of
citizens of the United States, more
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"
These cases thus brought into
head-on collision two basic-and
frequently incompatible-concepts
ofaAmerican law: Individual rights
and, States rights. The States
contended they had the right to
regulate education as a part of
their police power; the citizens
contended their right to equality
overrode the States authority.
District Cose
The fifth case was brought in
the District of Columbia where, no
State government existing, the
question of States rights did not
apply. This suit was brought un-
der the Fifth Amendment, which
puts curbs on the Federal Govern
mept like those placed on State
governments by the 18th Amend
ment. The Fifth Amendment says
in part, mo person shall be =.
deprived of life, liberty or property
without due process of law. -"
In the District case, suit was
brought in the name of a Negro
dent, Spottswood Boiling,
against c. Melvin Sharpe, chair
man of the School Board. Young
Boiling recited that he had been
refused adnittance to the white
Sousa Junior High School solely
because of his race, and asserted
that this deprived him of rights
under the Fifth Amendment.
DeIowore's Appeal
The South Carolina, Virginia
and Kansas cases were much like
the Boiling case in the District.
The other State case came up on
Delaware's appeal from ruling
by a State court which held that
because Negro and white schools
in one locality were not equal in
quality, Negro children would have
to be admitted to a school reserved
for whites. Thus, the Delaware
case differed from the others in
that it came to the Supreme Court
on the initiative of the State rather
than of citizen.
sTop-flight legal counsel repre-
sented both sides. Arguing for the
citizens was Thurgood Marshall,
eminent Negro lawyer. Appearing
for the States was John w. Davis,
an elder statesman of the Amer
lean bar who ran for President on
the Democratic ticket i'm 1924.
Arguments were heard initially
in the courts 1928 term, and a
decision was expected shortly be-
fore adjournment for the summer
last June. But at the end of the
term the court called litigantS
back to argue further a number of
points, including the intent of
Congress in submitting the 18th
Amendment to the States, and the
techniques by which integration
would be effected in event of a de-
cision overturning PlesSy D. Fergu-
son. These arguments were heard
early in the 1953-54 term. It was
fairly certain that a definite ruling
would be made before the court