When deciding a case, the Supreme Court must consider whether it will uphold the ruling of a lower court or overturn that
ruling. In upholding the ruling of another court, it follows a precedent. The idea of precedent originated in the English legal
system with the concept stare decisis, which means "let the decision stand."
The role of the Supreme Court is to decide on the legality or constitutionality of important cases, usually cases that have come
from lower courts. These cases often receive a significant amount of discussion because of the weight that a Supreme Court
decision carries. Plessy V. Ferguson (1896) was a landmark Supreme Court decision in which the Court upheld the precedent
of a lower court. Review this case and answer the following questions.
Part A
What were the background and circumstances of Plessy V. Ferguson?