EXPLORE YOUR U. S. CONSTITUTION

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The founding document as written, a plain overview of the seven Articles, and a glossary of archaic and legal terms.

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Civil Rights & Equal Protection

Cooper v. Aaron

Decided: 1958

In brief

Affirmed that state officials are bound by Supreme Court rulings, rejecting Arkansas's resistance to school desegregation.

The Court's ruling in depth

When Arkansas's governor and legislature attempted to nullify federal desegregation orders at Little Rock's Central High School, the Court took the unusual step of having every Justice individually sign the opinion. It reaffirmed that Marbury made the federal judiciary the 'supreme' interpreter of the Constitution and that no state officer may 'war against the Constitution.' Cooper is the definitive rejection of southern 'interposition' and 'nullification' theories.

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