what case was thurgood marshall most famous for as a lawyer?

What was Thurgood Marshall's most significant case?

In 1951, a court decision in Topeka, Kansas became the stimulus for Thurgood Marshall's most significant case. Oliver Brown of Topeka had sued that city's Board of Education, claiming that his daughter was forced to travel a long distance from her home just to attend a segregated school.

What was Thurgood Marshall's first job at Law School?

Marriage and Law School. Thurgood Marshall's hard work paid off. He rose to the top of the class in his first year and won the plum job of assistant in the law school library. There he worked closely with the man who became his mentor, law school dean Charles Hamilton Houston.

How did Thurgood Marshall become a Supreme Court justice?

On June 13, 1967, President Johnson announced Thurgood Marshall as the nominee for Supreme Court Justice to fill the vacancy created by Justice Tom C. Clark's departure. Some southern senators—notably Strom Thurmond—fought Marshall's confirmation, but Marshall was confirmed and then sworn in on Oct. 2, 1967.

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What was Marshall's first major court case?

Life as a Lawyer. In 1935, Marshall’s first major court victory came in Murray v. Pearson, when he, alongside his mentor Houston, successfully sued the University of Maryland for denying a Black applicant admission to its law school because of his race.

What was Thurgood Marshall's role in the Civil Rights Movement?

Sources. Thurgood Marshall—perhaps best known as the first African American Supreme Court justice—played an instrumental role in promoting racial equality during the civil rights movement. As a practicing attorney, Marshall argued a record-breaking 32 cases before the Supreme Court, winning 29 of them.

How many cases did Marshall win?

As a practicing attorney, Marshall argued a record-breaking 32 cases before the Supreme Court, winning 29 of them. In fact, Marshall represented and won more cases before the high court than any other person.

What university did Marshall go to?

Marshall decided to attend Howard University Law School, where he became a protégé of the well-known dean, Charles Hamilton Houston, who encouraged students to use the law as a means for social transformation. In 1933, Marshall received his law degree and was ranked first in his class.

How did Marshall's wife die?

Personally, Marshall suffered a great loss when Vivian, his wife of 25 years, died of cancer in 1955. Shortly after her death, Marshall married Cecilia Suyat, and the couple went on to have two sons together.

Where did Thurgood Marshall go to high school?

His father, William Marshall, was a railroad porter, and his mother, Norma, was a teacher. After he completed high school in 1925, Marshall attended Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Just before he graduated, he married his first wife, ...

What was Marshall's greatest victory?

Board of Education of Topeka (1954): This landmark case was considered Marshall’s greatest victory as a civil-rights lawyer. A group of Black parents whose children were required to attend segregated schools filed a class-action lawsuit.

Who was Thurgood Marshall?

Thurgood Marshall, originally Thoroughgood Marshall, (born July 2, 1908, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.—died January 24, 1993, Bethesda), lawyer, civil rights activist, and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1967–91) , the Court’s first African American member. As an attorney, he successfully argued before the Court the case of Brown v.

Why did Marshall serve on the Supreme Court?

Marshall served on the Supreme Court as it underwent a period of major ideological change.

How many cases did Marshall win?

Throughout the 1940s and ’50s Marshall distinguished himself as one of the country’s top lawyers, winning 29 of the 32 cases that he argued before the Supreme Court. Among them were cases in which the Court declared unconstitutional a Southern state’s exclusion of African American voters from primary elections ( Smith v.

What was the significance of Marshall's reliance on psychological, sociological, and historical data?

Ferguson [1896]), but it was Marshall’s reliance on psychological, sociological, and historical data that presumably sensitized the Court to the deleterious effects of institutionalized segregation on the self-image, social worth, and social progress of African American children. Brown v.

What was the purpose of the lawsuit against the University of Maryland?

Pearson (1935), a suit accusing the University of Maryland of violating the Fourteenth Amendment ’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws by denying an African American applicant admission to its law school solely on the basis of race.

Where did Marshall go to law school?

After being rejected by the University of Maryland Law School because he was not white, Marshall attended Howard University Law School; he received his degree in 1933, ranking first in his class.

Was Marshall a liberal?

During Marshall’s tenure on the Supreme Court, he was a steadfast liberal, stressing the need for equitable and just treatment of the country’s minorities by the state and federal governments.

What was Marshall's most famous case?

Marshall's most famous case was the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case in which Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren noted, "in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.".

What was Marshall's first legal case?

After graduating from Howard, one of Marshall's first legal cases was against the University of Maryland Law School in the 1935 case Murray v. Pearson. Working with his mentor Charles Hamilton Houston, Marshall sued the school for denying admission to Black applicants solely on the basis of race.

What did Marshall do for the Supreme Court?

During his nearly 25-year tenure on the Supreme Court, Marshall fought for affirmative action for minorities, held strong against the death penalty, and supported of a woman's right to choose if an abortion was appropriate for her.

What was the impact of Marshall's rule on the Supreme Court?

His mission was equal justice for all. Marshall used the power of the courts to fight racism and discrimination, tear down Jim Crow segregation, change the status quo, and make life better for the most vulnerable in our nation.

How many cases did Marshall win?

Marshall became one of the nation's leading attorneys. He argued 32 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, winning 29. Some of his notable cases include: Smith v. Allwright (1944), which found that states could not exclude Black voters from primaries. Shelley v.

Who was the first black supreme court justice?

Thurgood Marshall. Thurgood Marshall was a civil rights lawyer who used the courts to fight Jim Crow and dismantle segregation in the U.S. Marshall was a towering figure who became the nation's first Black United States Supreme Court Justice.

Where did Marshall go to law school?

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Marshall graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1930. He applied to the University of Maryland Law School but was rejected because he was Black. Marshall received his law degree from Howard University Law School in 1933, graduating first in his class.

Who was Thurgood Marshall?

Supreme Court) from October 1967 to October 1991. As a justice in the court, Justice Marshall was a vocal advocate of racial equality, individual, women’s and civil rights.

How many cases did Thurgood Marshall win?

Thurgood Marshall won about 90% of the cases he presented before the U.S. Supreme Court. Marshall famously won 29 out of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court. Examples of the famous cases he argued and won before the Supreme Court of the United States include, Shelly v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948); Sweatt v.

What was Thurgood Marshall's goal in the NAACP?

227 (1940), Thurgood Marshall and his associates founded the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). The fund was aimed at promoting structural and social changes in the community. Marshall hoped that those changes would lead to the elimination of racial disparities, which would in turn create an environment free of racial discrimination. To this day, the LDF, which is currently based in New York City, continues to take on several cases involving minorities in the United States and across the world.

What was the Marshall case?

In the end, the Supreme Court passed a verdict on May 17, 1954, which made it unconstitutional for racial segregation in public schools to go on. It was a huge case which caused considerable amount of racial tension in the United States. Marshall was at the heart of it all from start to finish.

What was Thurgood Marshall's greatest accomplishment?

Thurgood Marshall in 1957. Prior to his appointment to the position of associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Thurgood Marshall made huge waves as a civil rights activist/lawyer. Marshall famously argued numerous cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

What did Marshall do after he graduated from Howard University?

Determined to continue his pursuit for racial equality and social transformational laws, Marshall set his sights on creating a successful private law practice after graduating from the Howard University of Law School. After establishing his law firm, Marshall proceeded to form a strong alliance with the National Association for the Advancement of colored People (NAACP).

What did Marshall say about segregation?

Kind courtesy to his arguments, the court arrived at a unanimous decision (9-0) and stated that segregation in public schools, regardless of whether the facilities were the same in the segregated schools, resulted in inherently unequal quality.

Who was Thurgood Marshall?

Patricia Daniels. Updated January 23, 2020. Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908–January 24, 1993), whose great-grandparents were enslaved, was the first Black justice appointed to the United States Supreme Court, where he served from 1967 to 1991. Earlier in his career, Marshall was a pioneering civil rights attorney who successfully argued ...

How many cases did Thurgood Marshall win?

Overall, between 1940 and 1961, Marshall won 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education. In 1951, a court decision in Topeka, Kansas became the stimulus for Thurgood Marshall's most significant case.

What are some interesting facts about Thurgood Marshall?

Fast Facts: Thurgood Marshall 1 Known For: First Black Supreme Court justice, landmark civil rights lawyer 2 Also Known As: Thoroughgood Marshall, Great Dissenter 3 Born: July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland 4 Parents: William Canfield Marshall, Norma Arica 5 Died: January 24, 1993 in Bethesda, Maryland 6 Education: Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (BA), Howard University (LLB) 7 Published Works: Thurgood Marshall: His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions, and Reminiscences (The Library of Black America series) (2001) 8 Awards and Honors: The Thurgood Marshall Award, established in 1992 by the American Bar Association, is presented annually to a recipient to recognize "long-term contributions by members of the legal profession to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights in the United States," the ABA says. Marshall received the inaugural award in 1992. 9 Spouse (s): Cecilia Suyat Marshall (m. 1955–1993), Vivian Burey Marshall (m. 1929–1955) 10 Children: John W. Marshall, Thurgood Marshall, Jr. 11 Notable Quote: "It is interesting to me that the very people...that would object to sending their white children to school with Negroes are eating food that has been prepared, served, and almost put in their mouths by the mothers of those children."

What case did Marshall win?

Marshall, in 1940, won the first of his Supreme Court victories in Chambers v. Florida, in which the Court overturned the convictions of four Black men who had been beaten and coerced into confessing to a murder. For another case, Marshall was sent to Dallas to represent a Black man who had been summoned for jury duty and who had been dismissed ...

How did Marshall die?

W. Bush. Marshall was replaced by Justice Clarence Thomas . Marshall died of heart failure on Jan. 24, 1993, at age 84; he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

What was Marshall known for?

As his reputation grew, Marshall became known not only for his skill as a lawyer but also for his bawdy sense of humor and love of storytelling. In the late 1930s, Marshall represented Black teachers in Maryland who were receiving only half the pay that White teachers earned.

Why was Marshall sent to Dallas?

For another case, Marshall was sent to Dallas to represent a Black man who had been summoned for jury duty and who had been dismissed when court officers realized he was not White. Marshall met with Texas governor James Allred, whom he successfully persuaded that Black Americans had a right to serve on a jury.

What was the Supreme Court case that Marshall won?

Another crucial Supreme Court victory for Marshall came in the 1944 case of Smith v. Allwright, in which the Court struck down the Democratic Party's use of white people-only primary elections in various Southern states.

Where did Marshall study law?

Marshall studied law at Howard University. As counsel to the NAACP, he utilized the judiciary to champion equality for African Americans. In 1954, he won the Brown v. Board of Education case, in which the Supreme Court ended racial segregation in public schools.

What was Marshall's greatest achievement?

The great achievement of Marshall's career as a civil-rights lawyer was his victory in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of a group of Black parents in Topeka, Kansas, whose children were forced to attend all-Black segregated schools. Through Brown v. Board, one of the most important cases of the 20th century, Marshall challenged head-on the legal underpinning of racial segregation, the doctrine of "separate but equal" established by the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson.

What was the significance of the Board case?

Board, one of the most important cases of the 20th century, Marshall challenged head-on the legal underpinning of racial segregation, the doctrine of "separate but equal" established by the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson.

What did Marshall do in 1934?

Over several decades, Marshall argued and won a variety of cases to strike down many forms of legalized racism, helping to inspire the American civil rights movement.

What high school did Marshall attend?

Marshall attended Baltimore's Colored High and Training School (later renamed Frederick Douglass High School), where he was an above-average student and put his finely honed skills of argument to use as a star member of the debate team. The teenage Marshall was also something of a mischievous troublemaker.

What was Marshall's first victory before the Supreme Court?

Florida (1940), in which he successfully defended four Black men who had been convicted of murder on the basis of confessions coerced from them by police.

When was Thurgood Marshall confirmed as the first African American Supreme Court Justice?

Thurgood Marshall might have been pleased to see a historic wrong acknowledged. On this day in 1967, Marshall was confirmed as the first African-American Supreme Court justice.

What was the significance of the Groveland case?

For Marshall, King writes, the Groveland case was a self-defining moment, when he placed himself in personal danger to seek justice. It was this spirit that stayed with him as he continued to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, where he was known as “the Great Dissenter.”.

Who were the two men who were in prison for the Groveland case?

The two remaining men, Greenlee and Irvin, both served prison time. “Despite the fact that Marshall brought the Groveland case before the U.S. Supreme Court, it is barely mentioned in civil rights history, law texts, or the many biographies of Thurgood Marshall,” King writes.

Who was the lawyer for the Groveland Boys?

In 1951, Marshall was the director-counsel ...

Who were the four black men accused of stealing the car?

A young white couple–Willie and Norma Padgett–accused four black men–Samuel Shepherd, Walter Irvin, Charles Greenlee and Ernest Thomas– of stealing their car and sexually assaulting Norma Padgett, who was in the passenger seat when they drove it away.

Who survived the Irvin case?

Only Irvin survived. Marshall, who was already well known as a lawyer, stepped in when the case went to the Supreme Court–even though another NAACP organizer had already been killed by the Ku Klux Klan over the case, and Marshall was in significant personal danger.

Who wrote the Thurgood Marshall case?

Below, find links to clear, concise descriptions of each case argued by Thurgood Marshall before the Supreme Court of the United States (1943 - 1961), written by Marilyn Howard, Associate Professor, Humanities.

Who was the lawyer who argued Brown v. Board of Education?

Jack Greenberg, who was part of Thurgood Marshall's legal team of seven lawyers involved in arguing "Brown v. Board of Education" and he took on many other civil rights cases, died in 2016.

What was Thurgood Marshall known for?

Before becoming a justice, Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer who was most noted for his high success rate when arguing cases before the Supreme Court. He was more particularly known for his victory in Brown v. Board of Education.

Where did Thurgood Marshall go to law school?

Instead, Marshall attended Howard University School of Law and graduated in 1933 as the first in his class. As a Justice of the Supreme Court, ...

What is the Fourth Amendment in Terry v. Ohio?

Ohio (1968): A decision by the Supreme Court which stated that if a police officer stops an individual or suspect on the street and frisks the person without any probable cause to arrest, the prohibition in the Fourth Amendment on unreasonable searches and seizures is not violated, as long as the police officer has reasonable suspicion that the individual has committed, is committing, will immediately commit a crime. The police officer must also have a reasonable belief that the suspect may be possibly armed and dangerous.

What was the Supreme Court's decision in the Sale of Obscene Material case?

When the case came up to the Supreme Court, the issue was whether the distribution and sale of obscene material was a protected action under the First Amendment . The Supreme Court ruled that distributing and selling was not protected.

What was the Supreme Court case in Nixon v. United States?

This Supreme Court Case is often thought of as an extremely significant precedent which limits the power of a United States president.

What was Marshall's main idea?

The main idea that Marshall tried to convey was that the contemporaneous society should be considered when interpreting key constitutional phrases.

Who joined Warren's opinion?

Chief Thurgood Marshall joined Chief Justice Warren’s opinion for the Court. The majority opinion first began by reciting the principles of the Fourth Amendment and whether they included situations such as the stop and frisk involved in the case.