Cooper v. Aaron

The Court held that states are bound by its decisions and cannot delay school desegregation because of hostility from state officials.

Overview

After Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to block nine Black students from entering Little Rock Central High School in 1957, the Little Rock school board asked to postpone its desegregation plan for years, citing turmoil. In a special session in 1958, the Court unanimously refused, and all nine justices individually signed the opinion to underline their unity. Citing Marbury v. Madison and the Supremacy Clause, the Court declared that its interpretation of the Constitution in Brown v. Board of Education was the supreme law of the land, binding on state legislators, executives, and judges. Cooper remains the strongest statement of judicial supremacy.