Mendez v. Westminster

Mendez v. Westminster
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Full case nameMendez et al. v. Westminster School Dist. of Orange County et al.
ArguedFebruary 18, 1946
DecidedApril 14, 1947
Citation(s)161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947)
Case history
Prior history64 F.Supp. 544 (C.D. Cal. 1946)
Court membership
Judge(s) sittingFrancis Arthur Garrecht, William Denman, Clifton Mathews, Albert Lee Stephens Sr., William Healy, William Edwin Orr
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV
Section 1 of Article IX of the Constitution of California
Cal. Ed. Code §§ 8002-8004, 8251, 8501, 10051, 16004, 16005

Mendez, et al v. Westminister [sic] School District of Orange County, et al, 64 F.Supp. 544 (S.D. Cal. 1946),[1] aff'd, 161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947) (en banc),[2] was a 1947 federal court case that challenged Mexican remedial schools in four districts in Orange County, California. In its ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in an en banc decision, held that the forced segregation of Mexican American students into separate "Mexican schools" was unconstitutional because as US District Court Judge Paul J. McCormick stated, "The evidence clearly shows that Spanish-speaking children are retarded in learning English by lack of exposure to its use because of segregation, and that commingling of the entire student body instills and develops a common cultural attitude among the school children which is imperative for the perpetuation of American institutions and ideals."

  1. ^ Mendez v. Westminster, 64 F.Supp. 544 (C.D. Cal. 1946).
  2. ^ Mendez v. Westminster, 161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947).

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