What Brown Teaches Us About the Rehnquist Court's Federalism Revival

Abstract

by Neal Devins, College of William and Mary Linking the Warren Court's school desegregation decisions to more recent Rehnquist Court actions limiting congressional power helps us see clearly how social and political forces shape Supreme Court behavior. This article argues, contrary to common impression, that interest group litigation strategy was relatively unimportant to both the Warren Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) and to the Rehnquist Court's decision to revitalize federalism in United States v. Lopez (1995). Social and political forces are crucial factors in both Brown and in the initiation of a federalism revival. Moreover, majoritarian pressures also influenced the Warren Court's avoidance of school desegregation after Brown and the Rehnquist Court's continued enhancement of state power at federal expense.