who was homer plessys lawyer

by Gertrude Reichert 7 min read

He was represented by New Orleans lawyer James Walker, who submitted a plea challenging the jurisdiction of trial court by claiming that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution, which provided for equal protection under the law and "impermissibly clothed ...

Who was Homer Plessy suing?

Convicted by a New Orleans court of violating the 1890 law, Plessy filed a petition against the presiding judge, Hon. John H. Ferguson, claiming that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.Jan 20, 2022

Who was the lawyer in Plessy v. Ferguson?

Ferguson was represented by Louisiana Attorney General M.J. Cunningham and Plessy by F.D. McKenney and S.F. Phillips. On April 13, 1896, Plessy's lawyers argued before the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., that Louisiana had violated Plessy's Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law.

Who defended Homer Plessy?

Plessy's lawyer, Albion Tourgée, then appealed the ruling before the Louisiana Supreme Court, arguing that the Separate Car Act violated the 14th Amendment, which, ratified in 1868, guaranteed equal protection under the law. But the higher court upheld Judge Ferguson's decision.Feb 4, 2020

What did Plessy's lawyer argue?

At trial, Plessy's lawyers argued that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. The judge found that Louisiana could enforce this law insofar as it affected railroads within its boundaries. Plessy was convicted.

Is Plessy vs Ferguson a criminal case?

Ferguson, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on May 18, 1896, by a seven-to-one majority (one justice did not participate), advanced the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws.

Who voted against Plessy vs Ferguson?

Plessy v. Ferguson
Chief Justice Melville Fuller Associate Justices Stephen J. Field · John M. Harlan Horace Gray · David J. Brewer Henry B. Brown · George Shiras Jr. Edward D. White · Rufus W. Peckham
Case opinions
MajorityBrown, joined by Fuller, Field, Gray, Shiras, White, Peckham
DissentHarlan
16 more rows

What law did Homer Plessy break?

the Separate Car Act
1. What law did Homer Plessy violate? How did Plessy violate this law? Plessy violated the Separate Car Act, which provided separate accommodations for White and Black passengers and punished those who violated this separation.Aug 19, 2020

What was Plessy's punishment?

Ferguson, which upheld racial segregation for 62 years. Plessy was charged with violating the state's controversial Separate Car Act, which mandated separate rail cars for black and white travelers. His court-ordered punishment? A $25 fine or 20 days in jail.

Who is Homer Plessy and what did he do?

Homer Plessy was a shoemaker whose one act of civil disobedience helped inspire future generations of the Civil Rights Movement. He challenged Louisiana segregation legislation by refusing to move from a "whites only" railcar in 1896.Apr 2, 2014

What was Plessy's main argument in Plessy v. Ferguson?

The main argument of Plessy in Plessy v. Ferguson was that the law violated the 14th Amendment's "equal protection" clause.

What was the basis of Plessy's appeal?

Plessy's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court of Louisiana, arguing that the statute violated both the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. The Louisiana Supreme Court denied both claims, and Plessy's team then appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case.

What was John H Ferguson's argument?

John H. Ferguson, at the Louisiana Supreme Court, arguing that the segregation law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which forbids states from denying "to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws," as well as the Thirteenth Amendment, which banned slavery.

What did Plessy do in Ferguson?

Shortly after the Supreme Court decided the case, Plessy reported to Ferguson’s court to answer the charge of violating the Separate Car Act. He changed his plea to guilty and paid the $25 fine. For the rest of his life, Plessy lived quietly in New Orleans, working as a labourer, warehouseman, and clerk. In 1910 he became a collector for a black-owned insurance company and continued to be active in the African American community’s benevolent and social organizations, such as the Société des Francs-Amis and the Cosmopolitan Mutual Aid Association.

What did Plessy's mother do after his father died?

Three years after Plessy’s father died, his widowed mother married a post office clerk from a family of shoemakers. Plessy chose to follow his stepfather’s family and learn the shoemaking trade. He was also influenced by his stepfather’s participation in the Unification Movement, a civil rights organization formed in the 1870s. The group worked across racial lines, seeking political equality for all and an end to discrimination.

What was the Supreme Court case in Plessy v. Ferguson?

Plessy v. Ferguson. Plessy v. Ferguson, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court, on May 18, 1896, by a seven-to-one majority (one justice did not participate), advanced the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws. Plessy v.

What was the purpose of Plessy v. Ferguson?

Supreme Court, on May 18, 1896, by a seven-to-one majority (one justice did not participate), advanced the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws. Plessy v. Ferguson was the first major inquiry into the meaning….

Did Martinet know that the Abbott case did not apply to intrastate commerce?

Martinet, of course, knew that the Abbott case did not apply to intrastate commerce—that is, travel entirely within the borders... Plessy’s first venture into social activism came in 1887, when he became involved in education reform as vice president of the Justice, Protective, Educational, and Social Club.

What is the Supreme Court?

Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, final court of appeal and final expositor of the Constitution of the United States. Within the framework of litigation, the Supreme Court marks the boundaries of authority between state and nation, state and state, and government and citizen.….

Who was the plaintiff in Plessy v. Ferguson?

Homer Plessy. Homer Adolph Plessy, or Homère Adolphe Plessy (March 17, 1862 – March 1, 1925), was a French-speaking Creole from Louisiana, best known for being the plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson . Arrested, tried and convicted in New Orleans of a violation of one of Louisiana 's racial segregation laws, ...

Who was Homer Plessy?

Homer Plessy was a free person of color born to a family that came to America free from Haiti and France.

Who are Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson?

On February 10, 2009, Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, descendants of the players on both sides of the Supreme Court case, appeared together on TV station WLTV in New Orleans. They announced the formation of the Plessy & Ferguson Foundation for Education, Preservation and Outreach.

Who was Homer Plessy?

Homer Plessy was a French-speaking American person of color from the state of Louisiana who was the plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court decision in 'Plessy v. Ferguson'.

Where was Homer Plessy born?

Childhood & Early Life. Homer Adolph Plessy was born on March 17, 1862, in the French-speaking Creole community in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States to carpenter Joseph Adolphe Plessy and seamstress Rosa Debergue. His grandfather, Germain Plessy, a white man from France who had come to the US fleeing the slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue, ...

What group did Homer Plessy belong to?

Homer Plessy was a member of the Comité des Citoyens, a group consisting of African-Americans, whites, and Creoles that advocated equal civil rights to all races. The group was against the Separate Car Act of 1890 that required train companies to accommodate blacks and whites in 'equal but separate' cars.

When was Plessy v. Ferguson?

The Supreme Court heard the 'Plessy v. Ferguson' case four years later in April 1896, by which time the condition of blacks had deteriorated throughout the country, and particularly in the South.

What was the Plessy ruling?

The Plessy ruling legalized racial segregation by the states and marked a dark chapter during the reconstruction era by perpetuating separate school systems for the next half century. The ruling was eventually reversed following the Supreme Court's 1954 decision in 'Brown v.

How old was Homer Plessy when he married Louise Bordenave?

In 1888, 25-year-old Homer Plessy married 19-year-old Louise Bordenave at a ceremony officiated by Father Joseph Subileau at St. Augustine Church at 1210 Gov. Nicholls Street in New Orleans, with his employer Brito as witness. The next year, he settled with his family in the Faubourg Tremé neighborhood and was registered to vote in ...

Who were Homer Plessy's parents?

Homer Plessy was born Homère Patrice Adolphe Plessy to French-speaking parents Joseph Adolphe Plessy and Rosa Debergue Plessy. Germain Plessy, his paternal grandfather, was a White man born in Bordeaux, France, who moved to New Orleans after the Haitian Revolution in the 1790s. He and his wife, Catherine Mathieu, a free Black woman, ...

How many children did Homer Plessy have?

After his unsuccessful Supreme Court case, Homer Plessy resumed his quiet life. He had three children, sold insurance for a living, and remained an active part of his community. He died at the age 62.

Who was the plaintiff in Plessy v Ferguson?

Homer Plessy (1862–1925) is best known as the plaintiff in the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, in which he challenged Louisiana's Separate Car Act.

What did Plessy want to challenge?

The leadership of Comité des Citoyens asked Plessy if he would be willing to challenge one of Louisiana's Jim Crow laws by boarding the white section of a train car. The group wanted him to make the move to challenge the Separate Car Act, a law passed in 1890 by the Louisiana State Legislature which required Black and White people to board “equal but separate” train cars.

What was the significance of Plessy v Ferguson?

Ferguson, ruled that Plessy’s rights had not been violated and that Louisiana was within its rights to uphold a “separate but equal” way of life for Black and White people.

Who is Keith Plessy?

Four years later, Keith Plessy, the great-grandson of Homer Plessy’s first cousin , and Phoebe Ferguson, a descendant of Judge John H. Ferguson, started the Plessy & Ferguson Foundation to educate the public about the historic case.

What was the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

A decade later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed racial segregation in public places as well as employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, or country of origin. Plessy’s contributions to civil rights have not been forgotten.

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Overview

Homer Adolph Plessy (born Homère Patris Plessy; 1862 or March 17, 1863 – March 1, 1925) was an American shoemaker and activist, best known as the plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson. He staged an act of civil disobedience to challenge one of Louisiana's racial segregation laws and bring a test case to force the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of segregation laws. The Court decided against Plessy. The resulting "separ…

Early life and historical context

There is some dispute over Plessy's date of birth. He may have been born in 1862, or he may have been born under the name Homère Patris Plessy on March 17, 1863. He was the second of two children in a French-speaking Creole family in New Orleans, Louisiana. Later documents give his name as Homer Adolph Plessy or Homère Adolphe Plessy. His father, a carpenter named Joseph Adolphe Plessy, and his mother, a seamstress named Rosa Debergue, were both mixed-race fre…

Plessy v. Ferguson

In 1890, the State of Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which required separate accommodations for black and white people on railroads, including separate railroad cars. A group of eighteen prominent black, creole of color, and white creole New Orleans residents formed the Comité des Citoyens(Committee of Citizens) to challenge the law. Many staff members of The New Orleans Cru…

Later life

After the Supreme Court ruling, Plessy's criminal trial went ahead in Ferguson's court in Louisiana on February 11, 1897. He pleaded guilty of violating the Separate Car Act, which carried a punishment of a $25 fine or twenty days in jail. He opted to pay the fine. The Comité des Citoyens disbanded shortly after the trial's end. The shoemaking profession declined in the late 19th and early 20th …

Legacy

The "Separate but Equal" doctrine, enshrined by the Plessy ruling, remained valid until 1954 when it was overturned by the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and later completely outlawed by the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Though the Plessy case did not involve education, it formed the legal basis of separate school systems for the following fifty-eight years.

Further reading

• Chin, Gabriel J. (1996). "The Plessy Myth: Justice Harlan and the Chinese Cases". Iowa Law Review. 82: 151. doi:10.17077/0021-065X.4551. SSRN 1121505.
• Luxenberg, Steve (2019). Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-23937-9.