Capacchione v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools case files

Collection

Identifier: MS0439

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection includes case files generated by Ferguson, Stein, Chambers, Gresham & Sumter Law Firm during the Capacchione v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools original case and appeals.

Dates

1997 - 2001

Creator

Ferguson Stein Chambers Gresham & Sumter (Organization)

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Capacchione v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Case Files are the physical property of J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections. Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Historical Note

In 1997, William Capacchione sued the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School (CMS) district because he believed his daughter was not admitted into a local magnet school because of her race. The CMS board defended the desegregation plan and opposed the end of busing. However, in 1999, Federal District Court Judge Robert Potter ordered the district to stop using race or ethnicity in pupil assignments. CMS appealed, but the decision was upheld by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, ending Charlotte's mandatory-busing program.

Ferguson, Stein, Chambers, Gresham & Sumter Law Firm represented the class of black families in the 1999 trial and later appeals in the historic Charlotte school desegregation case, originally known as Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, and later as Belk v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education.

Extent

98 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Overview

The collection includes case files generated by Ferguson, Stein, Chambers, Gresham & Sumter Law Firm in the firm's work representing James Swann, one of the plaintiffs, on the Capacchione v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools case.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated by Luke Largess in 2011.

Processing Information

Collection inventory created by Christine Marolda and Andrew Pack, 2016. Original folder titles retained. File-level inventory with no further processing anticipated at this time.