Bolling v. Sharpe case brief

Bolling v. Sharpe case brief summary
347 U.S. 497 (1954)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Petitioner minority students sought review of the order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, which dismissed the students' complaint alleging that public school segregation deprived them of due process of law under the U.S. Constitutional Amendment V in their action against respondent school district.

CASE FACTS
Petitioner minority students brought an action against the school district alleging that public school segregation depriving them of due process of law under the U.S. Constitutional Amendment V. The district court dismissed the students' complaint, and the Court reversed on appeal.

DISCUSSION

• The Court found that segregation in public education was not reasonably related to any proper governmental objective, and thus it imposed on petitioners a burden that constituted an arbitrary deprivation of their liberty in violation of the Due Process Clause of U.S. Constitutional Amendment V. 
• Moreover, the Court held that just as the Constitution prohibits the states from maintaining racially segregated public schools under the Equal Protection Clause of U.S. Constitutional Amendment XIV, racial segregation in the public schools of the District of Columbia was a denial of the due process of law under U.S. Constitutional Amendment V.

CONCLUSION
The Court reversed the district court's dismissal of petitioner minority students claims because racial discrimination on the part of the District of Columbia constituted an arbitrary deprivation of their liberty in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The matter was restored for reargument.

Suggested law school course materials, hornbooks, and guides for Constitutional Law

Shop Amazon for the best prices on Law School Course Materials.