Case Name: TUREAUD v. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE et al.
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1953-09-11
Citations: 116 F. Supp. 248
Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 1238
Parties: TUREAUD v. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE et al.
Judges: 
Reporter: Federal Supplement
Volume: 116
Pages: 248–255

Head Matter:
TUREAUD v. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE et al.
Civ. A. No. 1238.
United States District Court E. D. Louisiana, Baton Rouge Division.
Sept. 11, 1953.
Reversed in 207 F.2d 807.
A. M. Trudeau, Jr., A. P. Turequd, Sr., New Orleans, La., U. Simpson Tate, Robert L. Carter, Dallas, Tex., Thurgood Marshall, New York City, for plaintiff.
Fred S. LeBlanc, Atty. Gen. of La.,' W. C. Perrault, First Asst. Atty. Gen., J. Clyde Pearce, Asst. Atty. Gen., W. Scott Wilkinson, Shreveport, La., Leandep H. Perez, New Orleans, La., C. C. Bird, L. W. Brooks, James R. Fuller, C. V. Porter, Baton Rouge, La., J. H. Tucker, Jr., Shreveport, La., Fred Blanche, Baton Rouge, La., Arthur O’Quinn, Shreveport, La., Victor A. Sachse, Baton Rouge, La., R. B. Sadler, Jr., Alexandria, La., H. C. Sevier, Tallulah, La., A. J. Shepard, Jr., Lake Charles, La., Grove Stafford, Alexandria, La., Oliver Stockwell, Lake ■Charles, La., W. H. Thompson, Monroe, La., Taylor, Porter, Brooks, Fuller & Phillips, Baton Rouge, La., Wilkinson, Lewis & Wilkinson, Shreveport, La., of counsel, for defendants.

Opinion:
WRIGHT, District Judge.
The purpose of this class action is to obtain an injunction requiring the defendants to admit to the combined six year arts and sciences and law course at Louisiana State University the plaintiff and other Negro citizens similarly situated. It is the admitted policy of Louisiana State University to deny admission to Negroes and this court has on three occasions issued injunctions against Louisiana State University authorities .requiring them to admit Negroes to the School of Law, the School of Medicine and the Graduate School. Wilson v. Board of Supervisors, D.C., 92 F.Supp. 986, affirmed 340 U.S. 909, 71 S.Ct. 294, 95 L.Ed. 657; Foister v. Board of Supervisors, No. 937 Civil Action; Payne v. Board of Supervisors, No. 894 Civil Action.
Plaintiff asserts that the combined arts and sciences and law course offered at Southern University, a college exclusively for Negroes maintained by the State of Louisiana, is not equal to the combined arts and sciences and law course offered by Louisiana State University. The defendants, on the other hand, suggest that the plaintiff and others similarly situated may go to Southern University to obtain the arts and sciences part of the combined course and then-transfer to Louisiana State University School of Law if they are not' satisfied with the School of Law offered at Southern.
The plaintiff's answer to this suggestion is that the arts and sciences part of the combined course offered at Southern is not substantially equal to the arts and sciences part of the combined course offered at Louisiana State University and that in any event a Negro obtaining his arts and sciences credits at Southern University would not be given an arts and sciences degree by Louisiana State University after the successful completion of his first year in law as would a student who took his arts and sciences as well as law at Louisiana State University. Defendants admit that this is so but show that a Negro who obtains his arts and sciences work at Southern University and successfully completes one year of law at Louisiana State University may then go back to Southern and obtain his arts and sciences degree.
Plaintiff's application for an interlocutory injunction was heard on September 8, 1953 on pleadings, affidavits and depositions. On the same day the defendants filed a motion to dismiss plaintiff's action insofar as it purports to be a class action and the argument on the motion was likewise heard. Whereupon the court took time to consider and now being advised sets forth the findings of fact and conclusions of law which constitute the grounds of its decision.
Findings of Fact
1. The State of Louisiana has established, maintains and operates an institution known as the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College. The University has a Junior Division, which is really the freshman or first year college class, a College of Arts and Sciences and a School of Law. The University operates as part of the educational system of the State of Louisiana and is maintained by appropriations from public funds which are raised by. taxation upon the citizens and taxpayers -of said state.
2. The defendant Board of Supervisors. of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College pursuant to the constitution and laws of the State of Louisiana exercises over-all authority with reference to the regulation of the institution, including the admission of students. Students of all ethnic groups, except Negroes, are admitted to the University.
3. The State of Louisiana has established and as a state function maintains. and operates an institution known as Southern University. Admission to Southern University is limited to Negroes. Southern University is primarily a College of Arts and Sciences. There has been, however, a Department of Law at this University since 1947.
4. Plaintiff, Alexander P. Tureaud, Jr., is a Negro resident and citizen of Louisiana, who possesses all the qualifications for admission to the Junior Division of Louisiana State University for the purpose of obtaining through the combined arts and sciences and law curriculum an arts and sciences degree as well as a degree in law.
5. During the period when defendants were receiving applications for admission as students in the Junior Division of the Louisiana State University for the school year 1953-54 and after complying with all the rules and regulations governing the admission of students to said Junior Division, plaintiff applied for admission as a student.
6. On August 8, 1953 the plaintiff was advised by letter from the defendant, John A. Hunter, Registrar of Louisiana State University, that his "application for admission to Louisiana State University as a freshman (Junior Division) desiring to pursue the liberal arts curriculum in the College of Arts and Sciences has been rejected in line with our policy not admitting Negro students to that area." Plaintiff's purpose in applying for admission to Louisiana State University was in order that he might pursue the combined arts and sciences and law course leading to a degree in arts and sciences in four years and to a degree in law in six years.
7. Louisiana State University was established in 1859 and has been in continuous operation since that time save for a short period during the Civil War when it was closed because of hostilities. The present value of its plant is $34,724,-654.84. Louisiana State University is a full University accredited by every recognized accrediting agency in the country. It has twelve colleges and several divisions within these colleges and offers not only undergraduate degrees but provides professional degrees, masters degrees and doctorates.
8. Southern University was established in 1880 and its plant is valued at about two and one-half million dollars. Southern University is not a member of the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools but it enjoys the highest rating given by the Association.
9. Louisiana State University operates on an annual budget of twelve million dollars. It has 6400 students with a per capita operating cost of $1,875. Southern University operates on an annual budget of less than two million dollars. There are approximately 2900 students enrolled making a per capita operating cost of $689.65.
10. Although there appears no question but that the State of Louisiana has made a bona fide effort to maintain and operate an adequate institution at the arts and sciences level in Southern University, the fact is, as shown by the analysis which is attached to these findings as an appendix, that the three year arts and sciences part of the combination arts and sciences and law curriculum offered by Southern University is not substantially equal to the three year arts and sciences part of the combined arts and sciences and law curriculum offered by Louisiana State University. In addition, under the exclusion policy as now enforced by Louisiana State University, a Negro desiring to pursue the combined arts and sciences and law curriculum would be required to go to Southern University for his arts and sciences work, transfer to Louisiana State University School of Law, if he were not satisfied with the School of Law at Southern, and then after one year of law receive his arts and sciences degree from Southern University. A non-negro student, on the other hand, desiring to pursue the combined arts and sciences and law curriculum may obtain his arts and sciences courses, his arts and sciences degree, as well as law degree at Louisiana State University without transfer.
Conclusions of Law
1. This suit arises under the -constitution and laws of the United States, and seeks redress for the deprivation of civil rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. This court is vested with jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1343; Act of April 20, 1871, Chapter 22, Section 1, 17 Stat. 13, 8 U.S.C.A. § 43; .Act of May 31, 1870, Chapter 114, Section 16, 16 Stat. 144, 8 U.S.C.A. § 41; 28 U.S.C. § 2281.
2. This action is properly ¡brought as a class action under Rule 23 (a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A. Defendant's motion to dismiss is accordingly denied.
3. The class which plaintiff represents is composed of the Negro citizens of the state who possess the requisite qualifications for admission to the combined arts and sciences and law course offered by the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College. We hold, in conformity with the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, that the plaintiff and all others similarly qualified and situated are entitled to educational advantages and opportunities available within the state, at the same time, upon the same terms and substantially equal to those which the state provides and makes available to other residents and citizens of the state. Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, Registrar of the University of Missouri, 305 U.S. 337, 59 S. Ct. 232, 83 L.Ed. 208; Sipuel v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma, 332 U.S. 631, 68 S.Ct. 299, 92 L.Ed. 247; McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, 339 U.S. 637, 70 S.Ct. 851, 94 L.Ed. 1149; Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629, 70 S.Ct. 848, 94 L.Ed. 1114; Wilson v. Board of Supervisors, D.C., 92 F.Supp. 986, affirmed 340 U.S. 909, 71 S.Ct. 294, 95 L. Ed. 657; Wichita Falls Junior College Dist. v. Battle, 5 Cir., 204 F.2d 632.
4. In Sweatt v. Painter, supra, the Supreme Court outlined the following criteria for determining substantial equality in educational institutions: (1) Education and reputation of the faculty; (2) variety of courses offered in the curriculum; (3) physical facilities of the institution; (4) library facilities; (5) position and influence of the alumni; (6) standing of the institution in the community; (7) traditions and prestige. Using these criteria, the combined course in arts and sciences and law, and more particularly the arts and sciences part of such course, offered by Southern University is not substantially equal to the combined arts and sciences and law course offered by Louisiana State University. In fact, only in a proceeding of this kind would such equality be seriously suggested.
5. The court is of the opinion that the denial of admission of the plaintiff to the Junior Division of Louisiana State University for the purpose of pursuing the combined arts and sciences and law course offered by that University solely because of his race and color denies a right guaranteed to plaintiff by the Fourteenth Amendment and that such denial would inflict irreparable injury upon the plaintiff.
It accordingly follows that the situation presented requires the issuance of a temporary injunction.
APPENDIX
Louisiana State University offers a combination arts and sciences and law course whereby a student may complete Louisiana State the requirements for University and receive an A.B. or B.S. and an L.L.B. degree in six years rather than in seven years. The University offers similar combination courses in geology and law and in commerce and law.
Southern University offers a combination course in political sci ence and law, English and law and mathematics and law. Very few Southern students have undertakUniversity en this course and no degree under this program has been awarded by Southern. At present only one applicant has applied for the combination curriculum.
Louisiana State University operates on an annual budget of $12,000,-000. It has 6400 students with a per capita operating cost of $1,875. It is composed of twelve Louisiana State colleges and various diUniversity visions, departments and schools within these colleges and offers bachelors degrees at the college level, masters and doctoral degrees at the' graduate school level, and various degrees at the professional school level. It is a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Southern University operates ' on an annual • • budget; of $2,000,000. There are approximately . 2900 students enrolled in the. college proper with a per capita cost of $689-.65. •-' With the exception of the law school, the entire instruction offered is at the college Southern level. The institution is University approved by the Southern Association of Colleges -and Secondary Schools, but unlike LSU, . is not • a member of the accrediting agency. There are 150 regular faculty members including 91 instructors, 30 assistant professors, 16 associate professors and 16 full professors.
At the college level is the Junior Division, where all first year college work is concentrated, the College of AgriLouisiana State culture, the College of University Chemistry and Physics, thé College of Commerce, College of Education, the College of Engineering, and the College of Arts and Sciences.
The college offers a program of freshman studies. It contains a Division in Agriculture, as compared with a College of Agriculture at L SU; a Division of Business as compared'with a College of Commerce; a Division of Education as compared to a College of Education at LS Southern U; a Division of Health University and Physical Education; a Division of Home Economics; a Division of Industrial and Technical Education; a Di- vision of Military Science and Tactics; a Division. of Music; and a Division of Liberal Arts . . and Sciences ' as compared, to College of Arts and Sciences at LSU'. The College of Arts and Sciences is headed by Dean Cecil G. Taylor, who' holds a Ph.D. degree, and contains 18 de- partments in the following fields: Air Science; Books and Libraries1; . Botany, Bacteriology and Plant Pathology; English; Fine Arts; Foreign Languages (Classical, Germanic and Slavic and Romance); Geography and Anthropology; Geology; Government; History; Journalism; Mathematics; Military Science; Philosophy; PsycholoLouisiana Stategy; Sociology; Speech; University Zoology, Physiology and Entomology. The college is staffed by 160 regular faculty members plus an additional instructional force below faculty rank. Of the regular faculty staff of 160 approximately 25% are associate professors, and 25% are of full professional rank. Between 6000 and 7000 students are enrolled. The goal of the college is to secure as instructors those who hold Ph.D. degrees in their respective fields. The Dean's salary is $9700.
The Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences is composed of nine departments including the departments of Fine and Applied Arts, Biology, Chemistry, Physics (as compared to the College of Chemistry and Physics at LSU), English, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages, Psychology, and Social Southern Sciences. There are University some 66 regular faculty members including a part-time instructor. There is no department of Air Science; Books and Libraries; Botany, Bacteriology and Plant Pathology; Geography and Anthropology; Geology; Government; History; Journalism; Philosophy; Sociology; Speech; and Zoology. Greek, German and Slavic Languages, Italian and Portuguese are not taught. Dean J. D. Cade who holds an M.A. degree is Dean of the College and Director of the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He receives a salary of $7200. The requirement at Southern for an instructorship is a Master's degree.
In the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Books and Libraries lists two instructors and offers two courses; The Department of Botany, Bacteriology and Plant Pathology lists five faculty members and offers 37 courses; The Department of Ancient and Modern Foreign Languages lists two professors in Classical Languages and offers 35 courses; The Department of English lists 32 teachers and offers 66 courses; The Department of Fine Arts lists 12 teachers and offers 53 courses; The Department of Ancient and Modern Foreign Languages lists 3 teachers in German and Slavic Louisiana State Languages and offers 17 University courses and Russian languages; the Department of Government lists 5 professors and offers 32 courses; the Department of History lists 10 teachers and offers 36 courses; The Department of Journalism lists 6 teachers and offers 19 courses; the Department of Mathematics lists 24 teachers and offers 38 courses; The Department of Philosophy lists 3 teachers and offers 22 courses; the Department of Psychology lists 9 teachers and offers 44 courses; the Department of Ancient and Modern Foreign Languages offers 2 courses in Italian, 2 in Portuguese, 20 in Spanish and 2 courses in Romance Philosophy, using 12 teachers; the Department of Sociology lists 11 teachers and offers 55 courses; and the Department of Zoology, Physiology and Entomology lists 11 teachers and offers 45 courses. Within the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Southern, the Department of Fine and Applied Arts lists 3 faculty members and offers 18 courses. The Department of Biology lists 12 faculty members, with one on leave, and offers 31 courses; the Department of Chemistry lists 4 faculty members and offers 11 courses. The Department of English lists 17 faculty members, one of whom is designated as part time, and offers 27 courses, including 6 courses in English composition and journalism and 11 courses in speech. The Depart-Southern ment of Mathematics University lists 7 faculty members and offers 11 courses. The Department of Physics lists 3 faculty members and offers 5 coui'ses. The Department of Modern Foreign Languages lists 4 teachers, with one on leave, and offers 23 courses in Spanish, German and French. The Department of Psychology lists one teacher and offers 10 courses. The Department of Social Sciences lists 15 faculty members, with one on leave, and offers 96 courses in Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology.
Louisiana State University offers a combined course in law and arts and sciences, geology and law and commerce and law as indicated. After completion of the Louisiana State Junior Division, a stuUniversity dent must complete prescribed minimum requirements for arts and science degree and may then within certain limitations complete the necessary semester hours for his degree by choosing from a variety of electives. After completion of Junior Division a student who at first matriculated for the arts and sciences and law course may switch to geology and law without loss of time or credits. There is no question but that this combination curriculum is a working program and going concern.
Southern University offers a combination cur rieulum in 3 fields as previously indicated. Southern The program is fixed as University set forth in the school catalogue. No deviation from course of study there prescribed is permissible under Southern's program.