Keyes v. School District No Denver, Colorado

Decision Date01 October 1969
Citation24 L.Ed.2d 37,396 U.S. 1215,90 S.Ct. 12
PartiesWilfred KEYES et al. v. SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1, DENVER, COLORADO, et al. No. ____
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Jack Greenberg and Conrad K. Harper, on the application.

Richard C. Cockrell, Thomas E. Creighton, and Benjamin L. Craig, in opposition.

Mr. Justice BRENNAN.

In this school desegregation case I am asked to vacate a stay by the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit of a preliminary injunction entered by the District Court for the District of Colorado. The preliminary injunction has the effect of requiring partial implementation of a school desegregation plan prepared by School District No. 1, Denver, Colorado, and then rescinded by that Board after changes in membership followed a school board election.

The Court of Appeals issued the stay pending decision of an appeal taken by the School Board from the preliminary injunction. I have concluded that the stay was improvidently granted and must be vacated. An order of a district court granting or denying a preliminary injunction should not be disturbed by a reviewing court unless it appears that the action taken on the injunction was an abuse of discretion. Alabama v. United States, 279 U.S. 229, 49 S.Ct. 266, 73 L.Ed. 675 (1929). Where a preliminary injunction has issued to vindicate constitutional rights, the presumption in favor of the District Court's action applies with particular force. The Court of Appeals did not suggest that the District Court abused its discretion. On the contrary, the Court of Appeals expressly stated that the District Court's findings of fact 'represent a painstaking analysis of the evidence presented. They establish a racial imbalance in certain named schools. From the facts found, the district court either made a conclusion or drew an inference, that de jure segregation exists in named schools. Its grant of the temporary injunction is grounded on the premise that there is de jure segregation.'

The Court of Appeals nevertheless stated that it 'must decide whether the public interest is best served by the maintenance of the status quo or by the acceptance of the injunctive order,' since the time before the Denver schools were to open on September 2 was insufficient to permit an examination of the record to determine whether the District Court correctly held that this was a case of de jure segregation. It may be that this inquiry was appropriate notwithstanding the presumption in...

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24 cases
  • Harvest v. BOARD OF PUBLIC INSTRUC. OF MANATEE CO., FLA., 65-12 Civ. T.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. United States District Court of Middle District of Florida
    • April 11, 1970
    ...F.Supp. 289, 298 (D.Colo.1969), preliminary injunction stayed (10 Cir. 1969), stay of preliminary injunction vacated, 396 U.S. 1215, 90 S.Ct. 12, 24 L.Ed.2d 37 (1969). "In other words," the Fifth Circuit has said, "the Act is not to be construed as authorizing a statutory duty to reduce rac......
  • Morgan v. Kerrigan, s. 75-1184
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit)
    • June 3, 1975
    ...the remedy devised by the district court after much consideration is difficult indeed. Keyes v. Denver School District, 396 U.S. 1215, 1216, 90 S.Ct. 12, 24 L.Ed.2d 37 (1969) (Brennan, J., in chambers). The decisions of the United States Supreme Court over the past seven years require that,......
  • Keyes v. School District No Denver, Colorado 8212 507
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • June 21, 1973
    ...26, 1971, granting stay. Mr. Justice Brennan, on August 29, 1969, filed an opinion reinstating the preliminary injunction, 396 U.S. 1215, 90 S.Ct. 12, 24 L.Ed.2d 37, and on April 26, 1971, this Court entered a per curiam order vacating the Court of Appeals' stay, 402 U.S. 182, 91 S.Ct. 1399......
  • Keyes v. SCHOOL DIST. NO. 1, DENVER, COLO., Civ. A. No. C-1499.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 10th Circuit. United States District Court of Colorado
    • August 25, 1977
    ...Dist. No. 1, 303 F.Supp. 279 (D.Colo.1969); Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, 303 F.Supp. 289 (D.Colo.1969); Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, 396 U.S. 1215, 90 S.Ct. 12, 24 L.Ed.2d 37 (1969); Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, 313 F.Supp. 61 (D.Colo.1970); Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, 313 F.Supp. 90 (D.Co......
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