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The Statue of Louisiana Acts of 1890

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requiring rail world railways companies carrying passengers in their coaches in the state to provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races by providing two or more passengers coaches for each passenger train or by dividing the passenger coaches by a portion so as the partition so as to secure separate accommodations of providing that no person shall be permitted to come occupy seats and coaches other than the ones assigned to them on account of race they belong to and the requiring the officer of the passenger

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train to assign each passenger to the coach or compartment assigned to for the race to which he or she belong and imposing fines or imprisonment upon passengers insisting on going into a coach or compartment or other than the one set

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aside for them for the race to

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which he or she belongs and conferring

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upon officers of the train power to refuse to carry on train passengers refusing to accompan a cop a cupi the the coach of compartment signed to them and accepting the railway company from liability for such refusal and not in conflict with provisions either of the company from the liability or such refusal are not in conflict with the provisions either of the 13th Amendment or the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

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This was a petition for the writs

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of prohibition in certiorari officially filed by the Supreme Court of the State by Plessy, the plaintiff in error against the honored judge honor John H. Ferguson, Judge of the Criminal District Court of for the parish of Orleans, and setting forth in substance the following facts.

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The petitioner was a citizens of the

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United States, a resident of the States the the State of Louisiana of mixed descent the portion of 7 8th Caucasian

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and 1 8th African blood that the

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mixture of colored blood was not discreditable in him and that he was entitled

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to every recognition, right, privilege and immunity

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secured to citizens of United States

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of the right race.

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It's its constitution laws. On June 7, 1892, he engaged and paid a the white embrace by the constitution and laws that on June 7, 1892, he engaged in paid for the first class passage on the East Louisiana Railway from New Orleans to Covington in the same State and thereupon entered a passenger train and took possession of the vacant seat and coach where passengers of white race were accommodated that such railroad.

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Company was incorporated by laws of Louisiana as a common carrier and that was not authorized to disc distinguish between citizens according to the race but not withstanding

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this petitioner was required by the conductor under the penalty of ejection from the

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said train and print imprisonment to vacant

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said coach and took occupy another c

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and coach assigned by the said company for persons not of the white race, and for other reasons, that the petitioner

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was of colored race.

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That upon petitioner refusal to comply with such order, he was with aid of the police officer forcibly ejected from said coach and hurried off to imprison and in the parish jail of New Orleans,

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and they're held to answer judge made

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by such officer to effect that he was guilty of having criminally violated an act of general assembly of the state approved July 10, 1890.

In such case was made and provided that the petitioner was subsequently brought before the recorder of the city for preliminary

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examination and committed for trial to the

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criminal district court for the parish of Orleans, where an information was filed against him and the matter set above set forth was for a violation of the above act, which act of petition reformed to be null and void because in conflict with the constitution of United States, that the petitioner is inter interposed a plea to such information based upon the uncon unconstitutionally of the act of the general assembly, to which district attorney on behalf of the state filed demurmer.

That upon issue being joined upon such demurmer the amply the court sustained the demurmer, overruled the plea and ordered the petitioner to plead over the facts set forth in the information.

That unless a judge of the said court be enjoyed by the writ of prohibition from further proceedings in such case, the court will proceed to find and sentence a petitioner to imprisonment and thus deprive him of his constitutional right set forth in his plea, notwithstanding and unconstitutionally of the act under which he was being prosecuted, that no appeal lay from such sentence, and the petitioner was without relief and remedy, except by the writs of prohibition in sertory.

Copies of this information of and other proceedings in criminal district court Were annexed to the petition as an exhibit.

Upon the filing of this petition, an order was issued upon the respondent to show cause why a writ of prohibition should not issue and b made per perpetual and further other, that the court of proceedings had in criminal case be certified and transmitted to the supreme court.

To this order the respondent made answer transmitting a certified copy of proceedings asserting the constitution of law, averting that instead of pleading for admitting that he belonged to the color race, the said press plessy decline and refused either by pleading or otherwise to admit that he was in any sense or any or in any portion of a colored man.

And the case coming on for a hearing before the supreme court, that the court was of opinion that the law under which the prosecution was constitutional and denied the relief prayed by the petitioner ex parte plessy aware pawn petitioner prayed for a writ of error from this court.

This which was allowed by Chief justice of Supreme Court of Louisiana, Mr. Justice Brown, after stating the case delivered the opinion of court.

This case turns upon the constitutionally act of a General assembly in the of the State of Louisiana passed in 1890, providing separate railroad carriages for white and colored races.

The first section of the statute in enacts that all railroad companies carrying passengers and their coaches in this state shall provide equal but separate accommodations for the white colored by providing two or more passenger coaches for each passenger train or by providing the passenger coaches by partition and so as secure separate accommodations.

Provided that this section shall not be constructed to apply street railroads no person or persons shall be admitted to occupy seats in coach coaches other than assigned to them on account of a race they belong to.

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By the second section it was enacted that this officers are such person passenger train shall have power and hereby required

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to assign each passenger to coach or

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compartment used for the race to which such passenger belongs.

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Any passenger insisting on going into a coach or compartment to which by race he does not belong shall be liable to a fine of 25 or in LEO thereof to imprisonment for such period of not more than 20 days in the par parish prison and any officer of any railway railroad insisting on assigning a passenger to coach or compartment other than one aside for the race to which said passenger belongs shall be liable to fine of $25 or in Liu there imprisonment for a period of not more than 20 days in the parish prison parish prison and any long any passenger refusal accompany coach or non exclusive privileges.

Compartment to which he is assigned to she or he assigned to by the officer of such railway.

Said officer shall have power to refuse to carry such passengers to to on

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this train and for such refusal refusal,

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neither the neither he nor the railway company which he presents represents shall be liable for damages any of the courts in the state.

The third section provides penalties for the refusal or neglect of officers, directors, conductors and employees of railways companies to complain comply with the act with a proviso that nothing in this shall be constructed applying nurses attending children to the other race.