Plessy V. Ferguson Mock

Today in class we held a mock trial regarding the Plessy v. Ferguson case. To give a little background on the case, a fellow named Homer Plessy who was a light skinned African American had gone through periods of his life living as a quote on quote white male and periods where he was seen as an African American. The ordeal that Mr. Plessy got himself was set in Louisiana where there was set segregation laws in place regarding transportation. Even though Mr. Plessy knew he was African American he sought to buy a first class ticket on the white train car due to his prior periods of life. Once the train workers saw that he was an African American on a white train car he was kicked off the train as well as, fined for breaking the law in Louisiana. Plessy did not agree with the fines because he believed he should able to sit on whatever train car he could afford. So, he argued in court that his 14th amendment right was being violated under the equal protection clause.

The first group presenting took the side of representing Mr. Plessy in the case. The first member of their litigation team argued that separate but equal should have never been a law in the first place. The second member of their team argued their case using a prior case known as Bush v Kentucky where an African American who was serving on a jury was kicked out because of his race. This case was used as legal precedent for her argument. The third member of the group argued in favor of how nice of a man Mr. Plessy was as a shoemaker and social activist. Lastly, the last members of the group argued with religion and the constitution. One group member said "The constitution was written for all men and it was not written to have a certain race above the law".

The second group presenting took the side of Ferguson. The first member argued that Mr. Plessy knew that it was against the law to sit in the white first class train car but decided to do it anyway. The next group member argued that slavery had been sanctioned by the bible for years and it could not be taken away entirely and former slaves should obey their earthly masters. The last member of the litigation team argued that allowing blacks and whites to be in the same train car will just cause more problems than there all ready is. The African Americans have been given their own car so they are not being denied their right to ride on a train car.

The final verdict came out to be in Ferguson's favor. The court said "that this lies under the separate but equal doctrine". The African Americans have been given their own train cars just like whites have received. The state of Louisiana law is staying inside the lines of the constitution and its power.