- In 1939, Thurgood Marshall took over the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and committed the group to attacking the separate but equal doctrine in the federal courts. His victory in Brown v. Board of Education, where the Court ruled that separate but equal had no role in the public schools, seemed to cap a successful campaign that illustrated the power of the U.S. Supreme Court to achieve social justice goals through constitutional interpretation. However, 40 years later public schools in the U.S were still very segregated. In 2006, in Parents Involved, the U.S. Supreme Court reinterpreted the equal protection clause to mean a color-blind constitution, which prevented local schools from integrating schools. The end result of the Brownruling proves the futility of relying on federal courts and the Supreme Court for social justice.
A good essay will use the cases and materials from class in support of a well-defined argument. You may agree, disagree or agree in part and disagree in part with the statement; in any case, be sure to stake out a clear argumentative position. A good essay will begin with a strong statement of your thesis and will then support that thesis with the cases, history and ideas that we have covered in the course.
LGST 138 University of California Berkeley Supreme Court and Public Policy Essay
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