Not Unanimous

As far as the Law is concerned, and 5-4 is as good as an Animous one.
Maybe a Few more attempted Challenges, But the Decision would have still been misinterpreted, as calling for Integration.
The Dissenters [1~4 depending] would have tried to prevent this, but once Civil Rights hit the TV Headlines, The fight was over.
 
It might well soften right-wing opinion on the virtues of the Supreme Court, though I very much doubt the dissenters would be supporters of segregation. Not a lot of populist racists take the time to read dissenting opinions. It could also take away some of the sense of being picked on by an overpowering Washington establishment there. But given how unexpected a victory it was, I don't think it being a little less overwhelming wouldn't make too much of a difference. As DuQuesne says, 5-4 is as good as unanimous in strictly legal terms.
 
If Brown v. Board is a 5-4 decision rather than a unanimous one, I would imagine there might be quite a mess when the next Supreme Court justice retires or dies; the segregationists might hope to change the balance and reverse Brown v. Board, much like the conservatives keep trying to do with Roe v. Wade.
 
If Brown v. Board is a 5-4 decision rather than a unanimous one, I would imagine there might be quite a mess when the next Supreme Court justice retires or dies; the segregationists might hope to change the balance and reverse Brown v. Board, much like the conservatives keep trying to do with Roe v. Wade.

Well, the segregationists might hope, but Brown was actually a reasonably good legal argument. At least I hope that Supreme Court Justices, while inevitably partisan, at least take consistency into account when making decisions. Roe, on the other hand, no matter one's opinions on abortion, was based on some of the most horrifically bad legal reasoning I have ever seen and makes a mockery of the notion that the Court only interprets the law, not make it.
 
My belief of this is, is that if it was ANYTHING but unanimous, the south would use that as a reason to oppose the ruling. But when all 9, even some southerners on the court voted to strike down segregation in Brown, they had no reason not to obey.
 
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