Supreme Court limits cross-district desegregation remedies in Milliken

The Supreme Court rules in Milliken v. Bradley on July 25, 1974, blocking a metropolitan-wide desegregation plan for Detroit-area schools unless plaintiffs prove suburban districts also committed constitutional violations. The decision prevents courts from ordering many city-suburb remedies even when segregation is shaped by housing patterns and district boundaries. Justice Thurgood Marshall dissents, warning that the ruling leaves Black students trapped in segregated city schools. The ruling sharply limits school desegregation remedies and protects suburban boundaries that often reflect racial segregation.