Thurgood Marshall Facts & Worksheets

• He decided in United States v. Wilkins (1964) that the Fifth Amendment’s protection against double jeopardy applied to the states. In People of the State of New York v. Galamison (1965), he also disagreed with a decision that upheld the convictions of civil rights protesters at the New York World’s Fair. His judicial writings, taken together, were a strong defence of civil liberties and broad protections in the Constitution.
• Many people thought that Marshall’s time as a judge would lead to an even higher job. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy in 1963, appointed him to be the United States’ Solicitor General. 
• Marshall was the Solicitor General, which meant he was the federal government’s primary lawyer before the Supreme Court. He argued 19 cases and won 14 of them.
• He later said that the job was ‘the most effective job’ and maybe the best one he ever had. As Solicitor General, Marshall was at the centre of important constitutional issues in the 1960s.
• One of his most famous cases was Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1966), in which he argued that requiring people to pay a poll tax in order to vote was a violation of their constitutional rights.
• He also represented the government in a related case to Miranda v. Arizona (1966), where he unsuccessfully argued that federal agents should not always be required to inform suspects of their rights upon arrest. Even though Miranda lost, the case became famous for establishing the ‘Miranda rights’.
• One of the most important civil rights laws of the time, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, was successfully defended by Marshall. The Supreme Court ruled in South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966) that Congress had the right to enforce voting protections, turning down the state’s challenge.
• In Katzenbach v. Morgan (1966), he won again, and the Court agreed that Congress had the power to ban literacy tests as unfair barriers to voting.
• As Solicitor General, Marshall demonstrated that he was both a skilled lawyer and deeply committed to civil rights. His performance made him even more well-known as one of the best lawyers in the country who argues cases before the Supreme Court, and it made him an obvious choice for the highest court in the land.

CAREER IN THE SUPREME COURT

• In 1967, Johnson made history by choosing Marshall to be a Supreme Court Justice. Johnson, who had already made Marshall the Solicitor General two years earlier, thought that putting him on the Supreme Court would honour Marshall’s legal career and help the cause of civil rights. Johnson made the nomination official on 13 June 1967. If confirmed, Marshall would be the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court.
• Even though he was a well-known lawyer and judge, Marshall faced opposition in the Senate, especially from Southern senators who did not want civil rights to move forward. Some critics argued that the questions posed during his confirmation hearings were hostile or irrelevant, focusing more on his beliefs than on his qualifications. However, President Johnson and many senators strongly supported Marshall because they knew he was a legal expert with a history of breaking new ground. The Senate confirmed him on 30 August 1967, after weeks of debate. The vote was 69 to 11. His appointment was a historic event in American history, showing that the fight for racial equality was making progress.
• On 2 October 1967, Thurgood Marshall officially became a member of the Supreme Court. During his 24 years in office, he worked on many important cases that helped shape modern constitutional law. Marshall was known for his dedication to civil rights, individual freedoms, and the safety of groups that are often left out. He always supported broad interpretations of the Constitution that upheld fairness and equality.
• Marshall served with justices who held different views on the law. However, he consistently believed that the Constitution was a living document that needed to evolve to protect people in a changing world. He often told his coworkers and the public that the law should be used in a way that upholds human dignity and fairness.

Equal Protection and Civil Rights Cases

• Marshall played a crucial role in shaping the law regarding equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. He often said that laws and policies that hurt African-Americans, women or people with low incomes more than others went against the Constitution’s promise of equality. 
• In several instances, Marshall wrote or supported opinions that overturned practices that discriminated against individuals based on their race. This strengthened the Court’s earlier decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which he had argued as an attorney. He was against efforts to make school desegregation laws less strict, and he always said no to attempts to justify racial discrimination by saying it was a matter of ‘states’ rights’.
• Marshall also considered factors beyond race. He backed cases that provided constitutional protections to women, individuals who speak different languages, and those who are poor. His legal philosophy was based on the idea that equal protection should be applied to everyone and that it should be used to promote justice for all groups that face systemic inequality. 

Criminal Law and Due Process

• Marshall was very concerned about issues of criminal procedure and due process, as well as civil rights. He often sided with defendants and stressed the importance of fair trials, protection from illegal searches, and the right to a lawyer. He supported the expansion of the Miranda rights, which ensured that people arrested were aware of their constitutional rights.
• One of Marshall’s most consistent views was that he was against the death penalty. In a number of opinions and dissents, he said that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment that went against the Eighth Amendment. He thought that the death penalty was not only used unfairly, but it also went against the changing standards of decency in a modern society.
• Marshall announced his retirement from the Supreme Court in 1991 after serving for more than 20 years. He was 82 years old and his health was getting worse at the time. His departure marked the end of a period when he was one of the most influential progressive voices on the Court.

DEATH AND LEGACY OF THURGOOD MARSHALL

• On 24 January 1993, Thurgood Marshall died in Bethesda, Maryland, at the age of 84. People all over the country mourned his death because he was one of the most important legal figures in American history. On 27 January 1993, he became the 96th person to lie in repose in the Great Hall of the United States Supreme Court. This is a special honour for people who are very important to the country. 
• Marshall’s legacy endures long after his death. The Historic State House in Annapolis, Maryland, was renamed the Thurgood Marshall Memorial in 2001 to honour his work in American law and civil rights. A 7-foot bronze statue of him was unveiled at Lawyers Mall in Annapolis on 1 October 2005. As a young lawyer, he had once been denied access to the mall because of his race. In 2003, the United States Postal Service honoured him with a commemorative stamp, which helped make sure that people would remember him.
• Marshall’s life and work represent a pivotal turning point in American legal and social history. Marshall was a strong advocate for justice for people who were not treated equally under the law throughout his career, from his early work with the NAACP to his role in Brown v. Board of Education, his time as Solicitor General, and finally his time on the Supreme Court.
• His appointment as the first African-American justice broke down racial barriers in one of the most powerful institutions in the country. More importantly, his ideas about the law emphasised that the Constitution’s promise of freedom and equality should apply to all Americans, regardless of their race, gender or social status.