The U.S. Supreme Court case Milliken v. Bradley in 1976 dealt with issues of racial segregation in public schools, specifically within Detroit, Michigan. The plaintiffs argued that the state had allowed and perpetuated de facto racial segregation by allowing white students to attend suburban schools while black students were confined to urban ones. They sought a metropolitan-wide desegregation plan which would include both city and suburban school districts. However, the court ruled against this proposal on a 5-4 vote stating that there was no evidence of an inter-district violation or significant violation having any inter-district effects; hence it was beyond judicial authority under existing law to order cross-district remedies for single district violations.

In the dissenting opinion for Milliken v. Bradley, Justice Thurgood Marshall argued that the majority's decision was a significant step backward in efforts to desegregate schools and eliminate racial discrimination. He contended that by focusing on whether there was evidence of an inter-district violation or discriminatory intent rather than considering the broader context of state-sanctioned segregation, the Court ignored its responsibility to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of race. Furthermore, he criticized their narrow interpretation of past precedents and failure to acknowledge how residential segregation contributed to school segregation. In his view, this ruling undermined previous progress made towards achieving integrated public education and perpetuated systemic inequality.