New York Court of Appeals
The People, Ex Rel. Theresa B. King, by Guardian v. John Gallagher, Principal
October 9, 188393 N.Y. 438
Summary
The Court affirmed the lower courts' denial of a writ of mandamus ordering the principal of a Brooklyn public school to admit a colored child. It held that New York statutes permitting separate schools for white and colored children are not repealed or invalid under the Fourteenth Amendment or the State Civil Rights Act of 1873, and that mandamus is discretionary and not appropriate here. Justice Danforth dissented, arguing that the statutes violate the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act and that mandamus should be granted.