Read the summary of the Edwards v. South Carolina Supreme Court case.In 1961, a group of African American high school and college students marched at the State House in Columbia, South Carolina, to protest segregation. They carried various signs indicating their opposition to segregation and walked peacefully in single or double file without blocking people or cars. After the protest attracted a curious but peaceful crowd, the police gave the students 15 minutes to leave. Rather than leave, the students began chanting and singing religious songs. The police arrested the students, and 187 were convicted of disturbing the peace. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court convictions in an 8–1 decision, ruling that the students had threatened no harm or violence and thus their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights had been violated by their arrests.
Answer
A
The police only gave the students 15 minutes to leave.
B
The students were showing their opposition to segregation.
C
The students had not threatened violence or harm to anyone.
D
The marchers were high school and college students.
Explanation
The Supreme Court reversed the convictions because the students had not threatened harm or violence, so their arrests violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Choice C states this key reason. Their opposition to segregation and their ages describe the protest, but the absence of any threat explains the Court’s ruling.
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