The Warren Court 1953-1969 ( Race, Rights and Religion )
- Series of civil rights cases delivering liberal opinions.
- Judicial activism is associated with the Warren Court.
- Court which gave a series of rulings that promoted civil rights typically at the expense of state law.
Brown v Board of Education of Topeka 1954 Engel v Vitale , 1962 Miranda v Arizona, 1966
- Known as landmark liberal rulings - Known as landmark li
- The justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation - Presented the question of whether a public school - Ernesto Miranda was
of children in public schools was unconstitutional. could sanction classroom prayers at a time when house and brought to
- Helped establish the precedent that ‘separate but America was increasingly pluralistic and secular where he was questio
equal’ education was in fact not equal at all - widely viewed as one of the most unpopular decisions officers in connection
- Was a major victory of the civil rights movement in Supreme Court history. and rape
- Case began in 1951 when Public school system in - Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for state officials - Police obtained a writ
Topeka, Kansas, refused to enroll local black resident to compose an official school prayer and encourage from Miranda. The wr
at the elementary school closest to their home, its recitation in public schools, due to violation of the was admitted into evi
instead requiring her to ride a bus to a segregated First Amendment. despite the objection
black school farther away. - case was brought by a group of families of public attorney
- The Browns and twelve other local black families in school students led by Steven Engel, in New Hyde - The jury found Miran
similar situations filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. Park from the Herricks Union Free School District who appeal, the Supreme
federal court against the Topeka Board of Education, sued the school board president William Vitale. affirmed and held tha
alleging that its segregation policy was - The families argued that the voluntary prayer written constitutional rights w
unconstitutional by the state board of regents to "Almighty God" because he did not sp
- Case was named after a lawsuit filed in 1951 by contradicted their religious beliefs counsel.
NAACP lawyers against the Topeka, Kansas school - The plaintiffs argued that opening the school day with - 5-4 decision, majority
district on behalf of Linda Brown and her family. such a prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the Warren
- A special three-judge court of the U.S. District Court First Amendment to the United States Constitution (as - Chief Justice Earl War
for the District of Kansas rendered a verdict against applied to the states through the Fourteenth opinion of the 5-4 ma
the Browns, relying on the precedent of Plessy v. Amendment), which states, in part, "Congress shall that defendant’s inter
Ferguson and its "separate but equal" doctrine. make no law respecting an establishment of religion the Fifth Amendment
- 1954, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous 9–0 - 6-1 decision , court ruled in favour of Engel, the - Chief Justice Earl War
decision in favor of the Browns. The Court ruled that Supreme Court held that reciting government-written decision, ruling Miran
"separate educational facilities are inherently prayers in public schools was unconstitutional, illegitimate and holdin
unequal", and therefore laws that impose them