Brennan v. Armstrong

Decision Date29 June 1977
Docket NumberNo. 76-809,76-809
Citation53 L.Ed.2d 1044,97 S.Ct. 2907,433 U.S. 672
PartiesThomas BRENNAN v. Kevin ARMSTRONG et al
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

PER CURIAM.

This school desegregation case involves the school system in the city of Milwaukee, Wis. The District Court here made various findings of segregative acts on the part of petitioner School Board members, appointed a Special Master 'to develop a plan for the desegregation of the Milwaukee public school system,' and certified its order for interlocutory appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Amos v. Board of School Directors, 408 F. Supp. 765. The Court of Appeals, observing that there was 'an unexplained hiatus between specific findings of fact and conclusory findings of segregative intent,' stated that the District Court is 'entitled to a presumption of consistency' and concluded that the findings of the District Court were not clearly erroneous. 539 F.2d 625. Neither the District Court in ordering development of a remedial plan, nor the Court of Appeals in affirming, addressed itself to the inquiry mandated by our opinion in Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman, 433 U.S. 406, 97 S.Ct. 2766, 53 L.Ed.2d 851, in which we said:

'If such violations are found, the District Court in the first instance, subject to review by the Court of Appeals, must determine how much incremental segregative effect these violations had on the racial distribution of the Dayton school population as presently constituted, when that distribution is compared to what it would have been in the absence of such constitutional violations. The remedy must be designed to redress that difference, and only if there has been a systemwide impact may there be a systemwide remedy.' 433 U.S., at 420, 97 S.Ct., at 2766.

The petition for certiorari is accordingly granted, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is vacated, and the case is remanded for reconsideration in the light of Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 97 S.Ct. 555, 50 L.Ed.2d 450 (1977), and Dayton.

Mr. Justice STEVENS, with whom Mr. Justice BRENNAN and Mr. Justice MARSHALL join, dissenting.

My concern over the Court's misuse of summary dispositions prompts this dissent.

The Court's explanation of its action gives the erroneous impression that the Court of Appeals' decision related to the question of what kind of remedy is approprite in this case. Quite the contrary, there was no remedy issue before the Court of Appeals, and that court considered no such issue.

The District Court concluded in a 60-page opinion that 'school authorities engaged in practices with the intent and for the purpose of creating and maintaining a segregated school system, and that such practices had the effect of causing current conditions of segregation in the Milwaukee public schools.' Amos v. Board of School Directors, 408 F.Supp. 765, 818 (E.D.Wis.1976). Recognizing that 'remedial efforts may well be for naught if the determination of liability is ultimately reversed on appeal,' id., at 824. Judge Reynolds certified this issue of law for interlocutory appeal. To further ensure appealability, he entered a general order enjoining future racial discrimination and directing the defendants to formulate desegregation plans. App. 140-141. This order did not call for any particular kind of desegregation plan. Thus when the case reached the Court of Appeals, the only issue before it was the existence of a violation.1 After a careful review of the evidence, it concluded that the District Court's finding of intentional segregation was not clearly erroneous. 539 F.2d 625 (CA7 1976).

This Court now vacates the Court of Appeals judgment and remands for reconsideration in light of two cases. One of those cases2 is merely a routine application of Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 96 S.Ct. 2040, 48 L.Ed.2d 597, which was correctly construed by the Court of Appeals.3 The other case is relevant to the issue of liability, if at all, only because it supports the Court of Appeals.4

Of course, in formulating a remedy, the District Court will need to consider cases such as Milliken v. Bradley, 433 U.S. 267, 97 S.Ct. 2749, 53 L.Ed.2d 745, an...

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32 cases
  • Evans v. Buchanan
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Delaware
    • 9 Enero 1978
    ...least as early as Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, 413 U.S. 189, 208, 93 S.Ct. 2686, 37 L.Ed.2d 548 (1973). 124 Brennan v. Armstrong, 433 U.S. 672, 97 S.Ct. 2907, 53 L.Ed.2d 1044 (1977), and School Dist. of Omaha v. United States, 433 U.S. 667, 97 S.Ct. 2905, 53 L.Ed.2d 1039 (1977), per curiam ......
  • Columbus Board of Education v. Penick
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • 2 Julio 1979
    ...See also School Dist. of Omaha v. United States, 433 U.S. 667, 97 S.Ct. 2905, 53 L.Ed.2d 1039 (1977); Brennan v. Armstrong, 433 U.S. 672, 97 S.Ct. 2907, 53 L.Ed.2d 1044 (1977). The District Court made no attempt to determine the incremental segregative effects of identified violations; give......
  • Armstrong v. O'CONNELL, Civ. A. No. 65-C-173.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Wisconsin
    • 8 Febrero 1979
    ......Ass'n, undesignated intervenor. . 463 F. Supp. 1297          FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, AND DECISION AND ORDER .         REYNOLDS, District Judge. .         On June 28, 1977, in Brennan v. Armstrong, 433 U.S. 672, 97 S.Ct. 2907, 53 L.Ed.2d 1044 (1977), the United States Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the United States Supreme Court of Appeals issued July 23, 1976, in Armstrong v. Brennan, 539 F.2d 625 (7th Cir. 1976), wherein the court of appeals had affirmed the finding ......
  • Armstrong v. Board of School Directors of City of Milwaukee
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)
    • 28 Abril 1980
    ...252, 97 S.Ct. 555, 50 L.Ed.2d 450 (1977) and Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman, 433 U.S. 406 (1977). Brennan v. Armstrong, 433 U.S. 672, 97 S.Ct. 2907, 53 L.Ed.2d 1044 (1977). On remand from the Supreme Court, this court vacated and remanded both the district court's original liability ......
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2 books & journal articles
  • The Policy-Making Role of the Courts of Appeals in Northern School Desegretation: Ambiguity and Judicial Policy-Making
    • United States
    • Political Research Quarterly No. 35-3, September 1982
    • 1 Septiembre 1982
    ...institutions&dquo; (p. 413). Toestablish proof of discriminatory purpose, the plaintiffs could show (1) that5In Brennan v. Armstrong, 433 U.S. 672 (1977), the Supreme Court vacated and remanded this case to theSeventh Circuit to be considered in the light of Arlington Heights v. Metropolita......
  • Housing, Schools, and Incremental Segregative Effects
    • United States
    • ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, The No. 441-1, January 1979
    • 1 Enero 1979
    ...Milwaukee’speriod of rapid growth in blackpopulation began with the secondWorld War, and continued during the4. Brennan v. Armstrong, 433 U.S. 672(1977).5. Armstrong v. O’Connell, 451 F. Supp. at817.6. Hearing, Armstrong v. O’Connell, July11, 1978, pp. 235-236.7. Ibid., p. 255.8. Ibid.9. Ib......

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