Plessy v. Ferguson

Plessy v. Ferguson
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 13, 1896 Decided May 18, 1896
Full case name	Homer A. Plessy v. John H. Ferguson
Citations	163 U.S. 537 (more)
Prior history	Ex parte Plessy, 11 So. 948 (La. 1892)
Subsequent history	None
Holding
Louisiana's law requiring segregation is constitutional under the 14th Amendment, as long as both races have "separate but equal" facilities
Court membership
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
Majority	Brown, joined by Fuller, Field, Gray, Shiras, White, Peckham
Dissent	Harlan
Brewer took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
Fourteenth Amendment; 1890 La. Acts 152
Overruled by
Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954) (partially overruled)

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled segregation was legal, as long as equal facilities were provided for both races. The decision was handed down by a vote of 7 to 1. The majority opinion was written by Justice Henry Billings Brown, and the minority opinion was written by Justice John Marshall Harlan.

In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education partially overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling.