| Mendez v. Westminster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |
| Full case name | Mendez et al. v. Westminster School Dist. of Orange County et al. |
| Argued | February 18, 1946 |
| Decided | April 14, 1947 |
| Citation | 161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947) |
| Case history | |
| Prior history | 64 F.Supp. 544 (C.D. Cal. 1946) |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Francis Arthur Garrecht, William Denman, Clifton Mathews, Albert Lee Stephens Sr., William Healy, William Edwin Orr |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV Section 1 of Article IX of the Constitution of California Cal. Ed. Code §§ 8002-8004, 8251, 8501, 10051, 16004, 16005 | |
| Part of a series on |
| Chicanos and Mexican Americans |
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Mendez, et al v. Westminister [sic] School District of Orange County, et al, 64 F.Supp. 544 (S.D. Cal. 1946),[1] aff'd, 161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947) (en banc),[2] was a 1947 federal court case that challenged Mexican remedial schools in four districts in Orange County, California. In its ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in an en banc decision, held that the forced segregation of Mexican American students into separate "Mexican schools" was unconstitutional because as US District Court Judge Paul J. McCormick stated, "The evidence clearly shows that Spanish-speaking children are retarded in learning English by lack of exposure to its use because of segregation, and that commingling of the entire student body instills and develops a common cultural attitude among the school children which is imperative for the perpetuation of American institutions and ideals."
- ^ Mendez v. Westminster, 64 F.Supp. 544 (C.D. Cal. 1946).
- ^ Mendez v. Westminster, 161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947).