Judicial branch · Landmark case
Cooper v. Aaron
358 U.S. 1 (1958) · Per Curiam Opinion, Signed by All Nine Justices
What you should know
This page explains the Court’s holding in plain language, where the official text lives, and what to check next.
Supreme Court findings are not news summaries. The controlling document is the Court’s opinion, plus any concurrences or dissents. Use this profile to understand the holding, then verify language, syllabus, and docket history on official sources before relying on a secondary account.
The Court held that Arkansas state officials were bound to obey federal court orders enforcing Brown v. Board of Education, regardless of the state’s own laws or officials’ disagreement with the ruling. Citing the Supremacy Clause and Marbury v. Madison, the Court declared its own interpretation of the Constitution “the supreme law of the land,” binding on every state officer.
Background
After Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Little Rock School Board adopted a gradual desegregation plan. In September 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus deployed the state National Guard to block nine Black students from entering Central High School. President Eisenhower responded by federalizing the Guard and sending the 101st Airborne Division to escort the students — the “Little Rock Nine” — into school under armed protection for the rest of the year.
Facing continued community hostility, the school board asked a federal court to delay desegregation by two and a half years. The district court agreed; the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed. The Supreme Court convened a special session and, with the new school year imminent, issued a brief order affirming the Eighth Circuit within a day of oral argument — followed weeks later by a full opinion.
The only opinion in Supreme Court history individually signed by all nine justices.
The unusual signature was deliberate — a direct answer to Arkansas’s argument that states weren’t bound by a ruling they disagreed with. Cooper remains the Court’s clearest statement that its constitutional interpretations bind every state official, not just the parties in the original case.
Vote and authorship
| Opinion | Per curiam, primarily drafted by Justice Brennan |
|---|---|
| Signed by | Warren, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Burton, Clark, Harlan, Brennan, Whittaker — all nine justices |
| Dissent | None |
No state legislator or executive or judicial officer can war against the Constitution without violating his undertaking to support it.
Per curiam · Cooper v. Aaron
How it fits in government
Judicial branch
This ruling is the Court’s most direct statement of judicial supremacy — that its constitutional interpretations bind state governments even when a state disagrees.
Executive branch
President Eisenhower’s decision to federalize the Arkansas National Guard is the direct backdrop — a real example of the executive branch enforcing a federal court order over a state governor’s objection.
State & local government
Arkansas’s attempt to resist a federal ruling through state law and state action is exactly what the Supremacy Clause forecloses — the case is a direct test of federal-state authority.
Official records visitors may need
SupremeCourt.gov
Opinions, docket search, rules, and Court information.
Oyez
Case abstract, oral argument audio, and justice votes.
Opinion text (LII)
Readable public text of Cooper v. Aaron.
GovInfo · U.S. Courts
Official publications and related federal court materials.
Related research paths
Brown v. Board of Education
The 1954 ruling this case enforces against a defiant state government.
Marbury v. Madison
The 1803 case establishing judicial review, cited directly in Cooper’s reasoning.
Supremacy Clause
Article VI’s declaration that federal law binds state officials.
Landmark cases guide
Other holdings that define federal-state authority and civil rights.