Supreme Court Case Research Paper

Court cases are common in the United States, they always have been. Many even become headline material, for any number of reasons. During, and even before, the Civil Rights movement, many court cases were fought and won for the oppressed races of America, from the Blacks to the Native Americans, the Asian peoples and the Mexican immigrants. The Civil Rights movement saw plenty of action in the streets from activists, but the truly important part of the Movement, what won equal rights for all races, was the legal battles fought in the background.

We’ll start with one of the most important actions of the Movement and what made it possible. The Freedom Rides, a campaign waged by College Students of both races, riding the newly desegregated interstate

Virginia was another important case in the Movement. It was fought in 1967, and it regarded Virginia’s laws prohibiting interracial marriage. This was a huge step for civil equality, and was a landmark moment for the movement as a whole. The case was presented by Mildred Loving and Richard Loving, a mixed-race couple who were both sentenced to a year in prison for marrying each other, violating the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 in Virginia. The final decision in the Supreme Court was unanimous in deciding interracial marriage was unconstitutional and therefore overturned. This was an impactful decision, letting the couples who’d formed during the civil rights movement stay together, and even

The most eye opening case of racism during this period of the movement was the Selma to Montgomery march. The Selma to Montgomery march was conducted by Martin Luther King Jr. in response to the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a peaceful demonstrator fatally shot by an Alabama State Trooper during an attack on the group of white segregationists. King and his supporters planned to march from Selma to Montgomery, and refused to let anything stop the march. The group of 600 marched all the way to the Edmund Pettis Bridge and were met with resistance from Alabama State Troopers, armed with teargas and nightsticks. The troopers brutally beat the marchers and forced them all the way back to Selma, the entire scene being captured on national television, causing an uproar across the United States. The coverage of the event brought supporters from across the nation to Selma, bolstering the number of marchers from 600 to 2000. King led them to the bridge, once again blocked by State Troopers. The minister led them in a prayer on the bridge, and the troopers parted from the road in response. However, fearing another brutal beating, King turned his protesters around and returned to Selma. Even if they did not make the march all the way to Montgomery, the nations eyes were opened fully to the exact measure of what the Civil Rights supporters