Milton Joseph Cunningham, also known as Joe Cunningham (March 10, 1842 – October 19, 1916) was a

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

attorney and politician who served as

Attorney General of Louisiana The office of attorney general of Louisiana () has existed since the colonial period. Under Article IV, Section 8 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the attorney general is elected statewide for a four-year term and is the chief legal officer of t ...

from 1884 to 1888, and from 1892 to 1900. As Attorney General he submitted the legal brief to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in the case

Plessy v. Ferguson ''Plessy v. Ferguson'', 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that ...

arguing in favor of separate rail cars for people of different races. Cunningham served in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

from 1878 to 1880 and in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

from 1880 to 1884.

References

1842 births 1916 deaths People from DeSoto Parish, Louisiana People from Homer, Louisiana Politicians from Natchitoches, Louisiana Politicians from New Orleans People of Louisiana in the American Civil War District attorneys in Louisiana American police chiefs Parish officials in Louisiana Louisiana attorneys general Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Democratic Party Louisiana state senators Lawyers from New Orleans 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature Law enforcement officials from Louisiana {{Louisiana-stub