answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Homer Plessy's and the Citizens' Committee's goal was to convince the US Supreme Court to overturn the Louisiana Separate Car Act (Act 111), requiring racial segregation on intrastate railroads, unconstitutional under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Unfortunately, the majority of the Court supported segregation, provided the facilities were "separate but equal" (which was seldom the case) and rejected the argument that segregation applied the stigma of slavery to African-Americans.

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)

For more information, see Related Questions, below.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

Homer Plessy's and the Citizens' Committee's goal was to convince the US Supreme Court to overturn the Louisiana Separate Car Act (Act 111), requiring racial segregation on intrastate railroads, unconstitutional under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Unfortunately, the majority of the Court supported segregation, provided the facilities were "separate but equal" (which was seldom the case) and rejected the argument that segregation applied the stigma of slavery to African-Americans.

Case Citation:

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Why did Homer Plessy go to the US Supreme Court?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about General History

When did Homer Plessy plead guilty?

Homer Plessy, the Petitioner in the landmark US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896), was arrested on June 7, 1892 for refusing to remove himself from a "whites only" train car on the East Louisiana Railroad, in violation of Louisiana's Separate Car Act of 1890. Act 111 required passengers to be separated by race and Plessy, who appeared white, was one-eighth African-American. When the conductor asked Plessy to declare his race, Plessy responded that he was "colored." He was promptly arrested and taken to jail in New Orleans, Orleans Parish.Plessy was held at the jail overnight, then processed and released on bail June 8, 1892, after waiving his right to see a judge.On October 28, 1892, Homer Plessy and his attorney, John C. Walker, appeared before Judge John Ferguson in the Criminal District Court for Orleans Parish. Plessy refused to enter a plea, arguing instead that the Separate Car Act was null and void because it violated his constitutional rights under the 13th and 14th Amendments. He was found guilty without entering a plea.Plessy's attorney then appealed and filed for a writ of prohibition (an order from a higher court to a lower court preventing the court from exercising its jurisdiction) in the Criminal Court of Appeals, then in the Louisiana Supreme Court, and finally in the Supreme Court of the United States.According to a New Orleans arrest warrant, Homer Plessy didn't enter a "guilty" plea until January 11, 1897, more than six months after his case had been decided by the US Supreme Court. Plessy paid a $25 fine, but was not jailed.


Was Homer Plessy sent to jail after his trial in the US Supreme Court?

No. Plessy didn't have a trial in the US Supreme Court; they heard an appeal of his case. After the Court made its decision, Homer Plessy was rearrested for the original "offense" on January 11, 1897 (according to a New Orleans warrant) and paid a $25 fine, but was not sent to jail.More InformationThe Supreme Court considered Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896) under its appellate jurisdiction, meaning they reviewed the decisions of the lower courts on appeal, to ensure the Constitution was being upheld, but did not conduct a trial or rule on Plessy's guilt or innocence. By the time the case reached the Supreme Court, the issue under consideration was whether the Louisiana Separate Car Act that required racial segregation in railroad transportation violated the 13th and 14th Amendments of the Constitution.Homer Plessy's trial was before Judge John Ferguson (the Ferguson named in the case) in the Criminal District Court for Orleans Parish. Plessy refused to enter a plea, arguing instead that the Separate Car Act was null and void because it violated his constitutional rights under the 13th and 14th Amendments. He was found guilty without entering a plea.Plessy's attorney then appealed and filed for a writ of prohibition (an order from a higher court to a lower court preventing the court from exercising its jurisdiction) in the Criminal Court of Appeals, then in the Louisiana Supreme Court, and finally in the Supreme Court of the United States.Homer Plessy didn't actually enter a "guilty" plea until January 11, 1897, more than four months after the Supreme Court ruled on his case.Homer Plessy was rearrested for the original "offense" on January 11, 1897, according to a New Orleans warrant, and paid a $25 fine, but was never sent to jail.Case Citation:Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)


What did Homer Plessy did for the people?

Homer Plessy was allegedly a shoemaker and Vice-President of Societe des Francs Amis (Society of French Friends), a social organization that paid medical and funeral expenses for dues-paying members. Later in life he became a collector for People's Life Insurance Company.Homer A. Plessy (March 17, 1863 - March 1, 1925) was the petitioner in the landmark US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896), that legitimized the "separate but equal" doctrine used to discriminate against African-Americans. The Plessy ruling, combined with the Court's earlier decision in the Civil Rights Cases, 163 US 537 (1883), which repealed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, allowed Jim Crow laws to flourish across the country (most particularly in the Southern states). Plessy was finally overturned by Brown v. Board of Education, 347 US 483 (1954).


How old was Homer Plessy when he joined the Citizens' Committee and got arrested for violating a segregationist law?

Homer A. Plessy (March 17, 1863 - March 1, 1925) was the petitioner in the landmark US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896), that legitimized the "separate but equal" doctrine used to discriminate against African-Americans. The Plessy ruling, combined with the Court's earlier decision in the Civil Rights Cases, 163 US 537 (1883), which repealed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, allowed Jim Crow laws to flourish across the country (most particularly in the Southern states). Plessy was finally overturned by Brown v. Board of Education, 347 US 483 (1954).Homer Plessy was 30 years old when he was arrested on June 7, 1892, for sitting in a whites-only railroad car, per the restrictions set by Louisiana's Separate Car Act of 1890. The East Louisiana Railroad Company, which also wanted the Separate Car Act repealed, conspired with the Citizens' Committee and Plessy to arrange Plessy's arrest so he would have standing to challenge the law in court.


Why did Homer Plessy challenge a Louisiana law in 1892?

In 1892 Homer Plessy rode in a whites only railroad car. He was brought before the courts and argued that the lawwas unconstitutional. In 1896 the supreme court expressed a new legal document endorsing "seperate, but equal."

Related questions

Was Plessy v Ferguson a boy or a girl?

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)Plessy v. Ferguson was a US Supreme Court case, not a person. Homer Plessy, the petitioner and John Ferguson, the nominal respondent, were both male, but that fact is completely irrelevant to the case.


Who decision legalizing segregation?

The US Supreme Court.


How was the US Supreme Court influenced by Plessy v Ferguson?

It upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine.


Was Plessy v Ferguson a boxing match?

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)No. Plessy v. Ferguson was a US Supreme Court case that legally sanctioned racial segregation.


When did Homer Plessy plead guilty?

Homer Plessy, the Petitioner in the landmark US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896), was arrested on June 7, 1892 for refusing to remove himself from a "whites only" train car on the East Louisiana Railroad, in violation of Louisiana's Separate Car Act of 1890. Act 111 required passengers to be separated by race and Plessy, who appeared white, was one-eighth African-American. When the conductor asked Plessy to declare his race, Plessy responded that he was "colored." He was promptly arrested and taken to jail in New Orleans, Orleans Parish.Plessy was held at the jail overnight, then processed and released on bail June 8, 1892, after waiving his right to see a judge.On October 28, 1892, Homer Plessy and his attorney, John C. Walker, appeared before Judge John Ferguson in the Criminal District Court for Orleans Parish. Plessy refused to enter a plea, arguing instead that the Separate Car Act was null and void because it violated his constitutional rights under the 13th and 14th Amendments. He was found guilty without entering a plea.Plessy's attorney then appealed and filed for a writ of prohibition (an order from a higher court to a lower court preventing the court from exercising its jurisdiction) in the Criminal Court of Appeals, then in the Louisiana Supreme Court, and finally in the Supreme Court of the United States.According to a New Orleans arrest warrant, Homer Plessy didn't enter a "guilty" plea until January 11, 1897, more than six months after his case had been decided by the US Supreme Court. Plessy paid a $25 fine, but was not jailed.


Was Homer Plessy sent to jail after his trial in the US Supreme Court?

No. Plessy didn't have a trial in the US Supreme Court; they heard an appeal of his case. After the Court made its decision, Homer Plessy was rearrested for the original "offense" on January 11, 1897 (according to a New Orleans warrant) and paid a $25 fine, but was not sent to jail.More InformationThe Supreme Court considered Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896) under its appellate jurisdiction, meaning they reviewed the decisions of the lower courts on appeal, to ensure the Constitution was being upheld, but did not conduct a trial or rule on Plessy's guilt or innocence. By the time the case reached the Supreme Court, the issue under consideration was whether the Louisiana Separate Car Act that required racial segregation in railroad transportation violated the 13th and 14th Amendments of the Constitution.Homer Plessy's trial was before Judge John Ferguson (the Ferguson named in the case) in the Criminal District Court for Orleans Parish. Plessy refused to enter a plea, arguing instead that the Separate Car Act was null and void because it violated his constitutional rights under the 13th and 14th Amendments. He was found guilty without entering a plea.Plessy's attorney then appealed and filed for a writ of prohibition (an order from a higher court to a lower court preventing the court from exercising its jurisdiction) in the Criminal Court of Appeals, then in the Louisiana Supreme Court, and finally in the Supreme Court of the United States.Homer Plessy didn't actually enter a "guilty" plea until January 11, 1897, more than four months after the Supreme Court ruled on his case.Homer Plessy was rearrested for the original "offense" on January 11, 1897, according to a New Orleans warrant, and paid a $25 fine, but was never sent to jail.Case Citation:Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)


Who won the Plessy v. Ferguson case?

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)John Howard Ferguson was the judge in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, who heard the case of Homer A. Plessy under the Separate Car Act of 1890. Judge Ferguson had previously ruled that the act did not apply to interstate travel. Because he was named in the petition to the Louisiana Supreme Court, Ferguson was the appellant of record in the US Supreme Court case.(see related question)


In which Supreme Court decision did the Court uphold the policy of separate but equal which allowed racial discrimination?

Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896)The "separate but equal" doctrine derived from the decision in the US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896), delivered on May 18, 1896.The Plessy decision was later overturned by Brown v. Board of Education, (1954).Case Citation:Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)


What was the basis for the ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson?

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896) was a landmark constitutional law case of the US Supreme Court. It upheld state racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal".


Who was Homer Plessy's lawyer?

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)James C. Walker, a Louisiana attorney, represented Homer Plessy as local counsel, along with famed New York civil rights attorney and former judge Albion Tourgée. Walker and Tourgée submitted a brief to the US Supreme Court on Plessy's behalf, as did law partners Samuel F. Phillips and F. D. McKenney. Albion W. Tourgée and Samuel F. Phillips argued the Plessy's case before the Court.For more information, see Related Questions, below.


What are the US Supreme Court cases Plessy v. Ferguson and Schenck v. United States?

Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896) and Schenck v. United States, (1919) are two completely unrelated US Supreme Court cases. For more information on these cases, see Related Questions, below.


What did Homer Plessy did for the people?

Homer Plessy was allegedly a shoemaker and Vice-President of Societe des Francs Amis (Society of French Friends), a social organization that paid medical and funeral expenses for dues-paying members. Later in life he became a collector for People's Life Insurance Company.Homer A. Plessy (March 17, 1863 - March 1, 1925) was the petitioner in the landmark US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896), that legitimized the "separate but equal" doctrine used to discriminate against African-Americans. The Plessy ruling, combined with the Court's earlier decision in the Civil Rights Cases, 163 US 537 (1883), which repealed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, allowed Jim Crow laws to flourish across the country (most particularly in the Southern states). Plessy was finally overturned by Brown v. Board of Education, 347 US 483 (1954).