Not One Judge's Opinion: Morgan v. Hennigan and the Boston Schools

Abstract

For twenty years, since Brown v. Board of Education, the federal courts have consistently upheld the right of black children to attend a nondiscriminatory school system, and the Boston School decision, Morgan v. Hennigan, has followed in that tradition. However, the violent and visceral reaction to the decision has raised the question whether the law will withstand the pressure to turn away from our national commitment to an integrated society. The Boston School decision, therefore, portends to be a watershed in the development of our national commitment to equality under the law. In this article, Professor Abrams, who was one of the plaintiffs' counsel in the litigation, examines the factual and legal bases of the federal district court's opinion.