Mandate of Court of Appeals in Mendez v. Westminster
2/25/1949
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This document orders that the mandate of the U.S. Court of Appeals be filed in the case Mendez v. Westminster School District. It includes the mandate affirming the lower court's ruling in 1947. U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. McCormick had ruled that school districts in Orange County, California, must stop segregating students on the basis of race.
The defendants (the schools) had filed an appeal, partly on the basis of a states' rights strategy. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the District Court ruling, and the Orange County school districts dropped the case.
The case had originated in 1944 when Orange County Latino parents joined together with the help of the United Latin American Citizens (LUCAC) to sue four school districts – Westminster, Garden Grove, and El Modeno School Districts and the City of Santa Ana – for segregating their children and 5,000 others. The petition from the parents stated that the schools were violating students' civil rights by segregating students of "Mexican and Latin" ancestry in separate schools.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul McCormick concurred with the petitioners, issuing an injunction against the school districts' segregation policies. He stated that there was no justification in the laws of California to segregate Mexican children and that doing so was a "clear denial of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment."
Mendez v. Westminster School District landed an important blow to school segregation in California. It underscored that the struggle for civil rights in America crossed regional, racial, and ethnic lines. The case resulted in the California legislature passing the Anderson bill, a measure that repealed all California school codes mandating segregation. The bill was signed by Governor Earl Warren.
The defendants (the schools) had filed an appeal, partly on the basis of a states' rights strategy. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the District Court ruling, and the Orange County school districts dropped the case.
The case had originated in 1944 when Orange County Latino parents joined together with the help of the United Latin American Citizens (LUCAC) to sue four school districts – Westminster, Garden Grove, and El Modeno School Districts and the City of Santa Ana – for segregating their children and 5,000 others. The petition from the parents stated that the schools were violating students' civil rights by segregating students of "Mexican and Latin" ancestry in separate schools.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul McCormick concurred with the petitioners, issuing an injunction against the school districts' segregation policies. He stated that there was no justification in the laws of California to segregate Mexican children and that doing so was a "clear denial of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment."
Mendez v. Westminster School District landed an important blow to school segregation in California. It underscored that the struggle for civil rights in America crossed regional, racial, and ethnic lines. The case resulted in the California legislature passing the Anderson bill, a measure that repealed all California school codes mandating segregation. The bill was signed by Governor Earl Warren.
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 6277755
Full Citation: Order to File Mandate of Court of Appeals; 2/25/1949; Civil Case File 4292; Gonzalo Mendez et al v. Westminster School District of Orange County et al, 3/2/1945 - 7/18/1947; Civil Case Files, 1938 - 1995; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Riverside, Perris, CA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/court-of-appeals-mendez, April 29, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.