In the 1970 case Davis et al. v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County et al., the U.S Supreme Court ruled that "freedom-of-choice" plans for desegregating schools were not sufficient to ensure compliance with Brown v. Board of Education if they did not result in actual, effective desegregation. The court held that school boards had an affirmative duty to take whatever steps might be necessary to convert a racially discriminatory public school system into a unitary one where racial discrimination would be eliminated root and branch. In this particular case, it was found that despite the freedom-of-choice plan implemented by Mobile County's board, segregation persisted due largely to societal pressures and past discrimination which led black students choosing black schools and white students choosing white ones.

In the dissenting opinion for Davis et al. v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County et al., Justice Hugo Black argued that the court's decision to reject a school desegregation plan was an overreach of judicial power, as it went beyond what was required by the Constitution or any federal law. He believed that this ruling would lead to courts across America becoming overly involved in managing schools and dictating educational policy, which he saw as a task better suited for local authorities who were more familiar with their communities' needs and circumstances. Furthermore, he expressed concern about how such involvement could potentially undermine public confidence in both the judiciary and public education system itself.