Impact of the Supreme Court on the American Society The Supreme Court is the greatest court in the land. Their decisions supersede all others made by lower courts. Its core purpose is to ensure that the Constitution of the land is upheld. As such, the court only hears matters regarding the law. In addition the court interprets and explains congressional enactments in cases. Its decisions over the years have resulted in changes in American society, the economy, and politics as we know it. The constitutional issues that it has handled include: Immigration Affirmative action Abortion Violation of human rights This paper will focus on landmark cases where the core question related to an interpretation of the fourteenth amendment. The amendment was adopted in 1868. It addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws. As one of the reconstruction amendments, it was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves. Section one is one of the most litigated parts of the constitution. Of the three supporting cases presented in the paper, the part of the fourteenth amendment that is in focus is the Equal Protection Clause. The clause provides that no state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The clause was created in response to the provisions on equality contained in the 1866 Civil rights Act. The act guaranteed that all people would have equal rights to those enjoyed by the whites in the United States of America. The interpretation of the clause goes further to require legal equality among white people themselves. Though the clause only applies to state governments, equal protection has been deemed judicially enforceable against the federal government. The clause as is provided in section one of the fourteenth amendment reads: œAll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Supreme Court decisions in cases referring to the Fourteenth Amendment serve to uphold the true spirit of the constitution: Freedom, liberty, peace and prosperity for all American people. Supporting Evidence To determine the impact the Supreme Court had on American society, this paper will focus on three landmark cases: Brown v Board of Education of Topeka 347 U.S. 483 (1954) Harper v Virginia Board of Elections 383 U.S. 663 (1966) Davis v Monroe County Board of Education 526 U.S. 629 (1999) Case I In (Brown v. Board of Education) Oliver L. Brown a black railroad worker was the main personal landmark for the case. The Court overturned the doctrine of separate but equal for public schools. This case can be viewed as one that had a great impact on American Society as we know it. The facts of the case are: In 1951 Oliver L Brown appealed the Topeka of Kansas Board of Education for not allowing his daughter Linda Brown to attend a whole-white school near his home. Similar cases were being brought against the states of South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware in that period. These states, and others, had Jim Crow laws limiting the constitutional rights of Africans and Americans. The plaintiffs had lost all their cases in the district courts, so they as directed by the NAACP leadership, grouped and appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed to hear their cases, but as one case based on one issue, desegregation. This case dealt with the question: Does the segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprive the minority children of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment? In 1953, Chief Justice Vinson died in before the cases could be re-argued. President Mr. Eisenhower appointed Mr. Earl Warren as California’s Governor to the seat of Chief Justice. Eisenhower’s thought was that Warren is a conservative, and that his views would reflect his own. But the President was wrong. Warren was a liberal at heart. In a brief, but strong statement highlighting the court’s unanimous opinion, the Court declared that: œseparate education facilities are inherently unequal and that racial segregation violates the equal protection in clause of the 14th amendment (Brown v. Board of Education). The chief justice argued that separating children in the schools solely on means of race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to be undone (Brown v. Board of Education). The courts decision resulted in many school systems being revised in an effort to alter racial imbalance in schools. This ruling greatly impacted the civil rights movement of the 1960s. It began a ripple effect of many people clamoring for change in society, especially the minorities. The result is present day America. Any child can attend the school of their choice regardless of the color of their skin. Case II In Harper v Virginia Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966) (School), Virginia residents moved to the highest court in the land seeking to have Virginia’s poll tax declared unconstitutional. The suit was filed by Annie E.Harper, a Virginia resident. She was unable to register to vote without paying a poll tax. Annie proceeded to file the suit on behalf of herself and other poor Virginia residents. The question that the Supreme Court had to answer in this ruling was whether the Virginia Poll Tax violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In a six to three vote, the Supreme court ruled in favor of Ms. Harper and dismissed the petition that was based on the ruling in Breedlove v Suttles, 302 U.S. 277. Consequently, it was held that a State’s conditioning of the right to vote on the payment of a fee or taxes violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The court noted that œa state violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution whenever it makes the affluence of the voter or payment of any fee an electoral standard. Voter qualifications have no relation to wealth. This ruling asserted the natural law that all people are entitled to enjoy certain basic rights. Freedom of choice is one of them that were greatly affected by the decision in this ruling. The court’s decision basically affirmed that everyone is entitled to vote. No one should be limited by their economic status to exercise their right to vote for a leader of their choice. Case III On May 24, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that schools are liable for sexual harassment cases (Nan Stein) between students if it was found that they school was aware of the sexual harassment but failed to stop it. In Davis v Monroe County Board of Education (119 S.Ct, 1661) the court held that school districts would be liable under Federal law title IX œ& only if they were deliberately indifferent to information about severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment among students. The facts of the case are: LaShonda Davis, a girl in the fifth grade in Macon was repeatedly groped and touched by a fellow student. The harasser touched her breasts and her genital are in the school facility and was her classmate. When LaShonda reported the matter to several teachers and requested to change her seating position in the class, the teachers did not assist her in any way. She reported the case to her parents as well. Since the teachers executed no actions based on her claims, LaShonda continued being harassed by her classmate. This resulted in her grades dropping and she became suicidal. Her parents proceeded to file a criminal complaint against the boy who eventually pleaded guilty to sexual battery. The assailant eventually moved away from the school district. In 1994, LaShonda’s parents filed a discrimination/sexual harassment lawsuit against the school district in 1994. In an unusual departure from the court’s usual practice, the court’s majority opinion was delivered from the bench (Nan Stein). Perhaps this reflected the court’s strong aversion to a school board not responding to a child’s cry for help. It was held that a private Title IX damages action can be upheld in cases of student-on-student harassment where: the school board in question is deliberately indifferent to sexual harassment the recipient has actual knowledge of the harassment the harassment deprives the victims of access to the benefits the school provides such as a conducive learning environment In this landmark case, not only did the Supreme Court create a new standard of how school boards should approach harassment cases, it helped safeguard and uphold the rights of children to not be violated in any way. It does not matter whether the child is encountering this heinous treatment from an adult or a child. The schools and the courts should mete out actions that deter such perpetrators from preying on students. In summation, civil rights for blacks became a major national political issue in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. Thousands of Americans, white and black were demonstrating across the South in an effort to end segregation in stores, restaurants, hotels, libraries, and all public places. Equal employment opportunities plus decent housing were also a major concern. Black people faced many hardships when it came to daily living. They were not allowed to attend white schools, they were not allowed to eat or shop in the same places as most white people public transport was also segregated. The Brown case challenged the status quo of black people and white people in the United States. The Supreme Court’s ruling that the system of segregated public school was unconstitutional empowered the Black people in their fight for equality. This ruling had a ripple effect on other civil rights cases that followed it such as the 1956 Supreme Court ruling that segregation of public transport was unconstitutional. Ms. Harper’s suit served to assert the element of equality in the United States. All men are equal and therefore are each entitled to vote for the leader of their choice. A poll tax violated that right since it contributed to the marginalization of people based on their ability to afford the Poll tax. In Davis v Monroe County Board of education, the Supreme Court asserted the sense of responsibility that the school board should have towards cases of sexual harassment between students, within school grounds. A lack thereof would leave many children vulnerable to sexual harassment and a violation of their right to enjoyment of the facilities and resources available at schools in counties all over the United States. In conclusion the Brown’s case was one that greatly influenced the development of American history as we know it with special reference to the civil rights movement. The decision that the Supreme Court held catapulted the civil rights movement and led to the development of rights of equality between the black and white races in the United States.