United States v. State of Louisiana Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board Williams v. Davis

• Court: U.S. Supreme Court
• Citation: United States v. State of Louisiana Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board Williams v. Davis, 364 U.S. 500, 81 S.Ct. 260, 5 L.Ed.2d 245 (1960)
• Decision Date: 12 December 1960
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. STATE OF LOUISIANA et al. Earl Benjamin BUSH et al., v. ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD et al. Harry K. WILLIAMS et al., v. Jimmie H. DAVIS et al

364 U.S. 500

81 S.Ct. 260

5 L.Ed.2d 245

UNITED STATES of America,

v STATE OF LOUISIANA et al.

Earl Benjamin BUSH et al.,

v ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD et al.

Harry K. WILLIAMS et al.,

v Jimmie H. DAVIS et al.

Decided December 12, 1960

Jack P. F. Gremillion, Atty. Gen. of La., for State of Louisiana and others. W. Scott Wilkinson and Thompson Clarke, for Legislature of Louisiana and others. Solicitor General Rankin, for the United States. Robert G. Polack, Peter H. Beer, William M. Campbell, Jr. and Ralph N. Jackson, for Orleans Parish School Board and others, in opposition. Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley and A. P. Tureaud, for Bush and others, in opposition.

PER CURIAM. These are motions for stay of an injunction by a three-judge District Court which nullified a series of enactments of the State of Louisiana. The scope of these enactments and the basis on which they were found in conflict with the Constitution of the United States are not matters of doubt. The nub of the decision of the three-judge court is this: 'The conclusion is clear that interposition is not a constitutional doctrine. If taken seriously, it is illegal defiance of constitutional authority.' Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board (United States v. State of Louisiana), D.C., 188 F.Supp. 916, 926. The main basis for challenging this ruling is that the State of Louisiana 'has interposed itself in the field of public education over which it has exclusive control.' This objection is without substance, as we held, upon full consideration, in Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1, 78 S.Ct. 1401, 3 L.Ed.2d 5. The others are likewise without merit. Accordingly, the motions for stay are denied. U.S. v. States of La., Tex., Miss., Ala., and Fla. [81SCt258,364US502,5LEd2d247] 81 S.Ct. 258 364 U.S. 502 5 L.Ed.2d 247 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. STATES OF LOUISIANA, TEXAS, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA and FLORIDA.

No. 10, Original.

Decided Dec. 12, 1960.

Final Decree.

This cause having come on to be heard on the motion of the plaintiff for judgment and to dismiss the cross-bill of the State of Alabama, and having been argued by counsel, and this Court having stated its conclusions in its opinions announced on May 31, 1960, 363 U.S. 1, 121, 80 S.Ct. 961, 4 L.Ed.2d 1025, 1096, and having considered the positions of the respective parties as to the terms of this decree, it is ordered, adjudged and decreed as follows:

1. As against the respective defendant States, the United States is entitled to all the lands, minerals and other natural resources underlying the Gulf of Mexico more than three geographic miles seaward from the coast lines of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and more than three leagues seaward from the coast lines of Texas and Florida, and extending seaward to the edge of the Continental Shelf. None of the States of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama or Florida is entitled to any interest in such lands, minerals or resources, and each of said States, their privies, assigns, lessees and other persons claiming under any of them are hereby enjoined from interfering with the rights of the United...