Which of the following develops a logical argument about how Judicial restraint supports the Supreme Court's Plessy v. Ferguson decision? Choose the best answer.
A: Judicial restraint supports the Plessy v. Ferguson decision because the decision challenged the legislative intent of the equal protections clause
B: Judicial restraint supports the Plessy v. Ferguson decision because the Supreme Court did not challenge the actions of the executive or legislative branches.
C: Judicial restraint supports the Plessy v. Ferguson decision because the decision challenged the actions of the legislative and Judicial branches.
D: Judicial restraint supports the Plessy v. Ferguson decision because the decision invalidated the separate but equal doctrine
The best answer that develops a logical argument about how Judicial restraint supports the Plessy v. Ferguson decision is option B: Judicial restraint supports the Plessy v. Ferguson decision because the Supreme Court did not challenge the actions of the executive or legislative branches.
This argument is logical because judicial restraint advocates believe that the judiciary should defer to the actions of the other branches of government and avoid overturning their decisions whenever possible. In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation policies, known as the separate but equal doctrine, by ruling that they did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. By choosing not to challenge the actions of the legislative branch, which enacted and supported these segregation policies, the Court demonstrated judicial restraint.