Plessy V. Ferguson vocab

Majority Opinion

(noun) The explanation for the decision that the majority (more than half) of the judges came to about a particular case.

Peonage

(noun) A labor system in which people work for others to pay off debts.

intimated

(verb) To communicate directly or delicately.

Onerous

(adj.) Burdensome, oppressive, or troublesome; causing hardship.

Exigency

(noun) A case or situation that is an emergency.

Plaintiff

(noun) A person who is bringing the lawsuit to court.

Acquiesce

(verb) Agree, to submit or comply silently without complaint.

Dissenting opinion

(noun) The explanation for why a judge or judges disagree with the principles or reasoning of the majority of the judges in a particular case.

Inhering

(verb) to be an inseparable part of (something/someone/some place, etc.)

Due process

(noun) Fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially of a citizen’s legal rights.

Repugnant

(adj.) distasteful, offensive

adjudications

(noun) The act of a court in making an order or judgement.

Abridge

(verb) To deprive, to cut off.

Inferiority

(noun) The quality or state of being lesser or lower in rank, position, quality, value, importance, etc.

Fallacy

(noun) Unsound or misleading argument; erroneous reasoning that renders arguments logically unsound.

Petitioner

(noun) A person who presents a petition.

Affirmed

(adj) Confirmed; formally asserted.