Judicial Influence

Throughout the United States history, there have been high profile cases that have been famous and controversial. Cases to do with racism have always attracted controversy in the country because of their sensitive nature. In the following account one of the cases touching on a Supreme Court ruling in 1893 is analyzed. The paper seeks to bring out the possible influences that may have led to the ruling.

The case In 1883 The Supreme Court strikes down the provisions of the 1875 Civil Rights Act that entitle all people to equal enjoyment of public accommodations and privileges on the ground that the 14th Amendment was intended to prevent wrongful acts by states and did not apply to the acts of individuals. URL httpsupct.law.cornell.edusupcthtmlhistoricsUSSC_CR_0109_0003_ZS.html

Introduction
In its ruling, the circuit court of the United States for the district of Kansas stated that the sections 1 and 2 Civil Rights Act passed March 1st, 1876 were unconstitutional in the way they were applied to several states. The sections were authorized by neither the XIII nor the XIV amendments. The XIII amendment abolished slavery in 1876. But according to the Circuit Court of the US for the district of Kansas, any other discrimination apart from one that is overwhelmingly racial should have been dealt with individually.

The cases against Stanley and Nichols were founded on the two sections that were passed in March 1st 1875. They were accused of denying persons of color accommodations and privilege of an inn or hotel. They therefore went against the provisions of the sections that sough to protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights. There was another case against Ryan and Singleton. The individuals cases were based on information and indictment. Information against Ryan was denying a colored person a seat in a theatre in the city of San Francisco. Singleton was indicted for denying the full enjoyment of an individual in a theatre in New York.  A number of factors may have influenced this outcome.

Racism
Slavery was practiced in the United States up to the last quarter of 19th century. As the case information indicates it was abolished in the 1876 through an act of congress. Because racial discrimination and profiling was the motivation behind slavery, its not wrong to conclude that the rulings of the cases were racially motivated. The year of the determination of the cases was 1883, seven years after slavery was abolished. At the time, a large segment of the American white population was racially inclined and the courts could not have been an exception. The judges who decided the cases did not see any reason to believe that these people were denied tickets because of their color. It was open racism in other words. It could not have come at an opportune time especially after the Jim Crow era. The Supreme Court demonstrated open racism in this case, as it did in the infamous Plessey v Ferguson case of 1896. Part of black peoples liberties were striped by the court decision when it ruled that public facilities could be separated throughout the nation so long as they were equal (Parkerson  Parkerson, 2001).In this case, the justices responsible portray the slavery era mentality that believed that people of color were not full human beings. Racial discrimination played apart in the deciding this case.

Conservatism
Similarly there is some evidence of conservatism that may have contributed to this outcome. The supreme court of the United States has from tine to time been led by justices who are either conservative or progressive. Through out the 1980s and 90s the supreme court was led by justices whose decisions demonstrated a conservative approach to segregation sought to establish it an accidental occurring that they had no control over (Lomotey, 2010). Given that it was six years after slavery had been abolished, it was not long enough for the racially inclined judicial elements to accept the fact that liberalism was setting in and that black people were full human beings entitled to all human rights. Its apparent that the conservative members of the bench may have swayed the decision against the plaintiffs based on conservative views.

Public opinion
According to (Hurwitz, M. S., Mishler, W.  Sheehan, R. S. , 2004,), there are theoretical and normative reasons to believe that public opinion influences supreme court decisions. They further conclude that there is evidence that public opinion influenced the Supreme Court prior to the Reagan presidency. Liberal members of the bench are normally known to be sympathetic to public opinion and they have been part of the decision making in arriving at the ruling. Public opinion has indirectly affected Supreme Court decisions and the court has acted in order to appease public mood with events such as elections in mind.

The sentiment in the American public majority of who was white may have been pro- slavery. In determining the case the courts may have considered the lingering public opinion. (Bardes, Shelley, Schmidt, 2009) in American Government and politics today, seek to show the majority white people were against the treatment black people as full human beings. The Second class status of African Americans was a matter of social custom. Black people were expected to observe a standard code that conformed to their inferiority. They further highlight the hostile reaction especially in the south that integration in schools received in the 1950s and 60s.

The hostile reactions by the white populations towards integration in schools are a major eye opener to what the situation could have been in the 1800s. The courts may have feared backlash from the white majority who without doubt would have protested at the decision to grant the plaintiffs victory effectively giving them green light to demand equal treatment on every aspect of the society. It would have likely generated to a public crisis that authorities were keen to avoid.

Conclusion
Open racism, conservatism of some members of the bench and public opinion are thought to have played a key role in the determination of the case. Justices are men of integrity, whose decisions are believed to be in the best interest of the society and are fair and non-biased. However they are human too and are bound to be influenced by personal opinions and views as well as external influences as witnessed in this case.

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