Plessy v. Ferguson

163 U.S. 537 (1896)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Plessy (D) was 7/8 white; his skin color was white. D attempted to sit in an all-white railroad car. He was told to sit in the black railway carriage car. He refused and was arrested for violating an 1890 Louisiana statute that provided for segregated 'separate but equal' railroad accommodations. Under the statute, those using facilities not designated for their race were criminally liable. The trial court found D guilty, holding that the law was a reasonable exercise of the state's police powers based upon custom, usage, and tradition in the state. D appealed the conviction, claiming that this separation stigmatized blacks, stamping them with a badge of inferiority. D claimed that this segregation violated the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments. The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the conviction. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.