Cooper v. Aaron

Cooper v. Aaron

Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the states are bound by the Court's decisions and must enforce them even if the states disagree with them. This case reaffirmed the principle of judicial review established in Marbury v. Madison and emphasized the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution.

Background

The case arose in the context of the Little Rock Integration Crisis following the Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Despite the ruling, the Little Rock School District in Arkansas delayed the integration of Little Rock Central High School.

In 1957, the Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent African American students, known as the Little Rock Nine, from entering the school. This led to a confrontation with the federal government, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower eventually sent federal troops to enforce the integration.

Legal Proceedings

The school board and the state of Arkansas argued that they needed more time to implement desegregation due to public hostility and potential violence. They sought to delay the integration plan approved by the federal district court.

The case was brought before the Supreme Court after the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court's order to proceed with desegregation. The state of Arkansas contended that it was not bound by the Supreme Court's decision in Brown because it was not a party to that case.

Supreme Court Decision

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, rejected Arkansas's arguments. The Court held that the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution makes the Constitution the "supreme Law of the Land," and that the interpretation of the Constitution by the Supreme Court is binding on all states.

The Court stated:

The constitutional rights of children not to be discriminated against in school admission on grounds of race or color declared by this Court in the Brown case can neither be nullified openly and directly by state legislators or state executive or judicial officers, nor nullified indirectly by them through evasive schemes for segregation whether attempted "ingeniously or ingenuously."

Significance

Cooper v. Aaron is significant for its affirmation of the principle that states cannot choose to ignore or defy Supreme Court rulings. It reinforced the authority of the federal judiciary and the principle of federalism in the United States.

The decision underscored the role of the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of constitutional interpretation and the necessity of compliance with its decisions to maintain the rule of law.

See Also

• Brown v. Board of Education
• Supremacy Clause
• Judicial review
• Little Rock Nine

References

• Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958).
• Klarman, Michael J. From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality. Oxford University Press, 2004.

External Links

• Oyez: Cooper v. Aaron