''Norwood v. Harrison'', 413 U.S. 455 (1973), is a

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

decision in which the court held that a state cannot provide aid to a private school which discriminates on the basis of race.

Facts of the Case

Textbooks were being purchased by the state of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and given to students for free in both public and private schools pursuant a statute passed in 1940. Among the schools with students receiving textbooks was

Tunica Academy Tunica Academy is a K-12 non-denominational Christian private school located in unincorporated Tunica County, Mississippi, near Tunica. The school was founded in 1964 and has been described as a segregation academy. Tunica Academy is an accredi ...

, which declined to attest that it had a racially non-discriminatory admissions policy. The District Court decided in favor of the state and the Supreme Court heard oral arguments February 20 and 21, 1973. The case was argued by civil rights attorney Melvyn R. Leventhal.

The Court's Decision

The Supreme Court ruled that a state may not constitutionally give or lend textbooks to students who attend a school that discriminates on the basis of race, otherwise the discriminatory conduct of the private school could be considered ''

state action In United States constitutional law, state action is an action by a person who is acting on behalf of a governmental body, and is therefore subject to limitations imposed on government by the United States Constitution, including the First, Fi ...

'' and would thus be in violation of the Constitution. The opinion of the court was authored by

Chief Justice Burger Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul College of Law i ...

and was joined by Stewart,

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

, Blackmun, Powell, and Rehnquist. Justices

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

and Brennan wrote concurring opinions. The Court held that the

Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pr ...

did not protect aid to private school students who attended racially segregated private schools because private schools are not a

suspect class In United States constitutional law, a suspect classification is a class or group of persons meeting a series of criteria suggesting they are likely the subject of discrimination. These classes receive closer scrutiny by courts when an Equal Protec ...

. The Court said there was no need to make a finding on the State's intent because the program had the impermissible effect of aiding the "organization and continuation of a separate system of private schools which, under the District Court holding, may discriminate if they so desire."''Norwood'', 413 U.S. at 467.

References

External links

* Education segregation in Mississippi United States school desegregation case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court 1973 in United States case law United States equal protection case law {{SCOTUS-Burger-stub