Bolling v. Sharpe

Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

This companion case to Brown v. Board of Education involved segregation in the District of Columbia public schools. Unlike state action (governed by the Fourteenth Amendment), the D.C. school system was subject to the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, which lacks an explicit Equal Protection Clause.

Significance

Chief Justice Warren held that segregation in D.C. public schools violated the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The Court reasoned that the concepts of due process and equal protection are not mutually exclusive — discrimination may be so unjustifiable as to violate due process. This ‘reverse incorporation’ doctrine applied equal protection principles to the federal government, ensuring that Brown’s holding applied nationwide, including in federal territories.

Category

US Federal Case Law