Palmer v. Thompson

403 U.S. 217 (1971)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
P
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Palmer v. Thompson

United States Supreme Court
403 U.S. 217 (1971)

Play video

Facts

In 1962, the City of Jackson, Mississippi, operated five public parks, swimming pools, and other public facilities on a racially segregated basis. Four of the swimming pools were designated for use by Caucasians only. The fifth pool was designated for use by African Americans only. Several African Americans challenged the segregation, alleging that it violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The district court hearing the case held the segregation unconstitutional but refused to issue an injunction to stop the practice. The court of appeals affirmed, and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. The city then proceeded to desegregate these public facilities but declined to operate its swimming pools on a desegregated basis. The City closed four of its pools. Palmer, an African American resident of Jackson, and several other African American residents (plaintiffs) brought suit against Thompson (defendant), a City of Jackson official, in federal district court challenging the closing of the pools and seeking to convince the city to reopen them on a nonsegregated basis. The district court denied this request, and the court of appeals affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Black, J.)

Concurrence (Burger, C.J.)

Concurrence (Blackmun, J.)

Dissent (White, J.)

Dissent (Douglas, J.)

Dissent (Marshall, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 805,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Constitutional Law

Key Terms