Case: Crawford v. Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles

63-822854 | California state trial court

Filed Date: 1963

Closed Date: 1982

Clearinghouse coding in progress

Case Summary

(This summary is temporary, while we research the case.) According to the U.S. Supreme Court's summary of this case, "In a California state court action seeking desegregation of the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (District), the trial court, in 1970, found de jure segregation in violation of both the State and Federal Constitutions and ordered the District to prepare a desegregation plan. The California Supreme Court affirmed, but based its decision solely upon the Equal Pro…

(This summary is temporary, while we research the case.)

According to the U.S. Supreme Court's summary of this case, "In a California state court action seeking desegregation of the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (District), the trial court, in 1970, found de jure segregation in violation of both the State and Federal Constitutions and ordered the District to prepare a desegregation plan. The California Supreme Court affirmed, but based its decision solely upon the Equal Protection Clause of the State Constitution, which bars de facto as well as de jure segregation. On remand, the trial court approved a desegregation plan that included substantial mandatory pupil reassignment and busing. While the trial court was considering alternative new plans in 1979, the voters of California ratified an amendment (Proposition I) to the State Constitution which provides that state courts shall not order mandatory pupil assignment or transportation unless a federal court "would be permitted under federal decisional law" to do so to remedy a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. The trial court denied the District's request to halt all mandatory reassignment and busing, holding that Proposition I was not applicable in light of the court's 1970 finding of de jure segregation in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The court then ordered implementation of a revised plan that again included substantial mandatory pupil reassignment and busing. The California Court of Appeal reversed, concluding that the trial court's 1970 findings of fact would not support the conclusion that the District had violated the Federal Constitution through intentional segregation. The Court of Appeal also held that Proposition I was constitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, and barred that part of the plan requiring mandatory student reassignment and busing."

In Crawford v. Los Angeles Board of Educ., 458 U.S. 527 (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Proposition I was lawful. 

Summary Authors

Christopher Felker (3/12/2013)

People


Judge(s)

Armstrong, Orville [Jack] A. (California)

Attorney for Plaintiff
Attorney for Defendant

Apperson, Ronald J. (California)

Expert/Monitor/Master/Other

Adler, James N. (California)

Arias, Beatriz (Arizona)

Armor, David James (California)

Judge(s)

Armstrong, Orville [Jack] A. (California)

Bird, Rose Elizabeth (California)

Blackmun, Harry Andrew (District of Columbia)

Burger, Warren Earl (District of Columbia)

Chantry, Kenneth N. (California)

Clark, William P. Jr. (California)

Compton, Lynn Davis (California)

Egly, Paul (California)

Fleming, Macklin G. (California)

Gitelson, Alfred (California)

Kriegler, Sandy R. (California)

Marshall, Thurgood (District of Columbia)

McComb, Marshall F. (California)

Mosk, Stanley (California)

O'Connor, Sandra Day (District of Columbia)

Powell, Lewis Franklin Jr. (District of Columbia)

Rehnquist, William Hubbs (District of Columbia)

Richardson, Frank K. (California)

Roth, Lester W. (California)

Stevens, John Paul (District of Columbia)

Tobriner, Matthew Oscar (California)

Turner, Paul (California)

White, Byron Raymond (District of Columbia)

Wright, Donald Richard (California)

Expert/Monitor/Master/Other

Adler, James N. (California)

Arias, Beatriz (Arizona)

Armor, David James (California)

Bardos, (California)

Bartman, Thomas Fred (California)

Bhargava, Anurima (District of Columbia)

Brennan, William Joseph Jr. (District of Columbia)

Caughey, John Walton (California)

Cohen, David K. (California)

Collisson, Peter (California)

Cooper, Charles Justin (District of Columbia)

Crain, Robert L. (New York)

Davidson, Gordon (California)

Dietrich, Andrea (California)

Dodson, Daniel W. (New York)

Driver, Shanta (Michigan)

Duff, Joseph Hairston (California)

Dunlap, Thomas Paine (California)

Echeagaray, Norma (California)

Edwards, G. Kip (California)

Faer, Laura Lynne (California)

Farley, Reynolds (Michigan)

Ferraro, (California)

Fiedler, (California)

Fine, Jack D. (California)

Fisher, Raymond C. (California)

Fridkis, Cliff (California)

Garcin, Thomas E. (California)

Gardner, Arthur F. (California)

Gifford, Bernard R. (California)

Goldberg, Arthur L. (California)

Gordon, Calvin Wayne (California)

Grosz, David Brant (California)

Hain, Elwood Brett Junior (California)

Hammerman, Sam (California)

Hardy, Georgiana (California)

Harris, H Elizabeth (California)

Hoffman, Paul L. (California)

Horth-Neubert, Stacy R. (California)

James, Judy (California)

Jones, Nathaniel Raphael (Ohio)

Kao, Winifred (California)

Keeny, Christy Virginia (California)

Kelley, Robert E (California)

Kenneally, Gwen (California)

Kerley-Schwartz, Stephanie (California)

Lavender, Carol King (California)

Lee, Rex E. (District of Columbia)

Lhamon, Catherine (California)

Lindsey, Michael Kaj (California)

Logan, Dorothea (California)

McKenna, George J. III (California)

McKinsey, Brenda Powers (California)

Michael, Barbara (California)

Mirell, Douglass E. (California)

Nastasia, Rose Mary (California)

Nathanson, Julia (California)

Orfield, Gary (California)

Paul, Lee G. (California)

Peters, Aulana Louise (California)

Pettigrew, Thomas Fraser (Massachusetts)

Powers, Brenda (California)

Price, Monroe E. (California)

Purdy, Robert (California)

Rabinovitz, Francine (California)

Russell, Jason D. (California)

Saferstein, Harvey Irving (California)

Schwab, Richard Joseph (California)

Smith-Evans, Leticia (New York)

Spencer, Ruth A. (California)

Stern, Robert Steven (California)

Su, Julie A (California)

Sullivan, Neil V. (California)

Tenner, Jack (California)

Thomas, Holly A. (New York)

Trygstad, Lawrence Benson (California)

Valenzuela, Cynthia Ann (California)

Vera, Hernan D. (California)

Washington, George B. (Michigan)

Weisman, Joseph (California)

Willett, Hugh C. (California)

Willick, Daniel Harold (California)

Younger, (California)

Yudof, Mark G. (Texas)

Ziegler, Mara Jean (California)

show all people

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

77-cv-50701

Index of Pleadings

Bustop v. Superior Court for the State of California for the County of Los Angeles; Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles

California state appellate court

March 22, 1977

March 22, 1977

Docket

Supreme Court Docket

Bustop adv. Crawford

Supreme Court of the United States

Sept. 11, 1978

Sept. 11, 1978

Docket

81-00038

80-cv-60000

81-cv-822854

Docket Court Appeal California 2 second Appellate District Division 2 two

California state appellate court

Jan. 14, 1982

Jan. 14, 1982

Docket

63-822854

Minutes, Regular Meetings 1962-1963

June 7, 1962

June 7, 1962

Discovery Material/FOIA Release

63-822854

LAUSD responses to California Fair Housing Act of 1963 Rumford Act AB 1240

July 15, 1963

July 15, 1963

Discovery Material/FOIA Release

63-822854

Complaint for Declaratory Judgment and Injunction

July 31, 1963

July 31, 1963

Complaint

63-822854

Order to Show Cause

Aug. 1, 1963

Aug. 1, 1963

Order/Opinion

63-822854

Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Points and Authorities on Order to Show Cause

Aug. 2, 1963

Aug. 2, 1963

Pleading / Motion / Brief

63-822854

LAUSD transmittal to Los Angeles County Counsel

Aug. 5, 1963

Aug. 5, 1963

Complaint

63-822854

LAUSD Board Crawford correspondence, 1963-1977

Sept. 6, 1963

Sept. 6, 1963

Other

Resources

Docket

Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:57 p.m.

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: California

Case Type(s):

School Desegregation

Key Dates

Filing Date: 1963

Closing Date: 1982

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Class of all black and Mexican descent students attending school in the Los Angeles Unified School District

Plaintiff Type(s):

Private Plaintiff

Attorney Organizations:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund

ACLU Affiliates (any)

MALDEF

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: Yes

Class Action Outcome: Granted

Defendants

Los Angeles Board of Education (Los Angeles, Los Angeles), School District

Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles (Los Angeles), City

Defendant Type(s):

Jurisdiction-wide

Elementary/Secondary School

Case Details

Causes of Action:

State law

Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.

Constitutional Clause(s):

Equal Protection

Available Documents:

Complaint (any)

Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief

Non-settlement Outcome

Any published opinion

U.S. Supreme Court merits opinion

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff

Nature of Relief:

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Attorneys fees

Preliminary injunction / Temp. restraining order

Declaratory Judgment

Source of Relief:

Litigation

Order Duration: 1970 - 1982

Content of Injunction:

Preliminary relief granted

Busing

Student assignment

Develop anti-discrimination policy

Issues

General:

Education

Racial segregation

School/University policies

Discrimination-area:

Disparate Treatment

Discrimination-basis:

National origin discrimination

Race discrimination

Race:

Black

Type of Facility:

Government-run

National Origin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic