Brown vs. Board of Education:In the 1950s, most parts of the United States had racially segregated public schools that was made legal by the Plessy vs. Ferguson case which stated the segregated schools were considered constitutional only if the Whites and African-Americans had the same equal rights. Because of this, many civil rights groups fought for legal protection in politics to challenge racial segregation. The NAACP filed many lawsuits to break the “separate but equal” rule mostly in Virginia, South Carolina, Kansas, and Delaware to convince the school districts to let black students attend white public schools. Brown vs. Board of Education was filed against the Topeka, Kansas school district by Oliver Brown whose daughter was denied entry to all public white schools in the city. Brown claimed that the school district violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause under the 14th amendment because the city’s public schools were not equal to each other and wouldn’t have a chance to be under this jurisdiction.
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled segregation unconstitutional. The decision brought much significance as it was seen as the start of the civil rights movement and the downfall of segregation. Miranda vs. Arizona:In the court case, the Supreme Court ruled that crime suspects must be informed their rights prior to any questioning. Ernesto Miranda who was charged with kidnapping and rape was arrested in 1963. He wasn’t informed his rights before the police interrogations but was questioned in a two hour span and ultimately confessed to committing the crimes. At the trial, the only that was present in his support was his confession and thereafter, he was convicted and sentenced to 20-30 years in prison.
In 1966, the case was reviewed and a decision was made where it was ruled that the prosecution couldn’t be use Miranda’s confession as evidence because of the police failing to provide Miranda his right to an attorney and self-incrimination. The decision sparked the creation of what is called now as the “Miranda Rights” that gives a constitutional guarantee that anyone who gets arrested and questioned, has the right to remain silent and their right to speak to an attorney.
