Aaron v. Cooper
Headline: Court refuses to intervene in Little Rock school integration dispute and denies emergency review, leaving a federal judge’s order allowing suspension of integration in place while appeals proceed.
Holding: The Court denied the petition to bypass the Court of Appeals and refused immediate review, leaving the appeals court to decide the stay and appeal.
- Keeps the district court’s suspension of integration in effect while appeals continue.
- Directs the Court of Appeals to decide the stay and appeal first.
- Leaves final review to later appeals; the Supreme Court declined emergency intervention.
Summary
Background
On June 21, 1958, a federal judge in Arkansas authorized the members of the Little Rock School Board and the Superintendent of Schools to suspend an integration plan until January 1961. That plan had been approved by the same District Court in August 1956 and affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in April 1957. The District Court denied a request for a stay on June 23, 1958, and an appeal was docketed in the Eighth Circuit on June 24, 1958, where a stay application remains pending.
Reasoning
The central question before the Supreme Court was whether to bring the case up immediately rather than let the Court of Appeals decide first. The Supreme Court explained that it rarely uses its power to jump ahead of the normal appeals process. It noted that the Eighth Circuit is the regular court to review the District Court’s orders and that the matter had been before that court several times already. The Supreme Court expressed confidence that the Court of Appeals would address the stay or the appeal in time for practical arrangements and therefore denied the petition for immediate review.
Real world impact
Because the Supreme Court refused to intervene, the District Court’s suspension remains in effect for now while the appeal and the stay application proceed in the Eighth Circuit. The decision is procedural and not a final ruling on the merits of integration policy. The Court’s denial means the timing and arrangements for the next school year will depend on how quickly the Court of Appeals acts.
Ask about this case
Ask questions about the entire case, including all opinions (majority, concurrences, dissents).
What was the Court's main decision and reasoning?
How did the dissenting opinions differ from the majority?
What are the practical implications of this ruling?