Thurgood Marshall
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
1908 - 1993
First Black Supreme Court Justice who, as the chief architect of the legal strategy that ended Jim Crow, won more cases before the Supreme Court than any other American.
Biography
Thurgood Marshall served on the Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991, but his most transformative work came as the lead attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 1940 to 1961. Denied admission to the University of Maryland School of Law because of his race, Marshall graduated first in his class from Howard Law School and went on to win 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court.
Marshall's crowning achievement as a litigator was Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which struck down school segregation and overruled Plessy v. Ferguson's separate-but-equal doctrine. The legal strategy leading to Brown was a masterpiece of incremental litigation, systematically challenging segregation in graduate education before taking on elementary and secondary schools.
On the Supreme Court, Marshall was a steadfast defender of individual rights, consistently voting to expand protections for criminal defendants, minorities, women, and the poor. He was the Court's leading voice against the death penalty and a powerful advocate for affirmative action. His opinions and dissents often drew on his personal experience with racial discrimination to illuminate the human impact of legal doctrines.
Major Accomplishments
- 1Argued and won Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court
- 2First Black Justice of the Supreme Court
- 3Won 29 of 32 cases argued before the Supreme Court as NAACP counsel
- 4Masterminded the incremental legal strategy that dismantled Jim Crow
- 5Served as Solicitor General of the United States before joining the Court
Notable Opinions & Cases
Brown v. Board of Education (as counsel)
1954
Argued and won the case that struck down school segregation and overruled Plessy v. Ferguson
Shelley v. Kraemer (as counsel)
1948
Won the case holding that judicial enforcement of racially restrictive covenants constitutes state action
Stanley v. Georgia
1969
Authored the opinion establishing the right to possess obscene material in the privacy of one's home
Furman v. Georgia (concurrence)
1972
Argued that the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in all circumstances
Legacy
Marshall is one of the most important lawyers in American history. His litigation strategy destroyed the legal foundations of racial segregation and demonstrated the power of the law to achieve social justice. As a Justice, he brought a unique perspective rooted in personal experience with discrimination, enriching the Court's deliberations and reminding his colleagues of law's real-world consequences.
Famous Quotes
“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.”
“None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.”
“A child born to a Black mother in a state like Mississippi has the same rights as a white baby born to the wealthiest person in the United States.”
“The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis.”