Supreme Court Decisions: Dred Scott

large view Dred Scott

Interpretive Analysis: The Supreme Court and the Constitution

Writers intend meaning, but readers make meaning. From the author-provided diction and details, readers derive understanding. Sometimes, readers arrive at meanings not intended by the author (but once the author publishes a work, he loses control over its message). Inherently, then, reading is an interpretive activity.

Like a fiction novel, the written law must be interpreted as well. The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the U.S. Constitution. That is to say, in all legal matters, the Supreme Court decides whether laws fall within the framework of our founding fathers’ intentions. Essentially, the Supreme Court reviews the facts of a current case; then, the justices examine the U.S. Constitution or Congressional laws, determining if the facts of the case fall within the intent of written statutes. Often, the Supreme Court determines whether or not a law is Constitutional. Congress may have passed a law, but does that law fall within the scope allowed by our founding fathers as written in the U.S. Constitution?

Function of the United States Supreme Court (source: http://bartleby.com/65/su/SupremeC.html):

The Supreme Court has two fundamental functions. On the one hand, it must interpret and expound all congressional enactments brought before it in proper cases; in this respect its role parallels that of the state courts of final resort in making the decisive interpretation of state law. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has power (superseding that of all other courts) to examine federal and state statutes and executive actions to determine whether they conform to the U.S. Constitution. When the court rules against the constitutionality of a statute or an executive action, its decision can be overcome only if the Constitution is amended or if the court later overrules itself or modifies its previous opinion. The decisions are not confined to the specific cases, but rather are intended to guide legislatures and executive authority; thereby they mold the development of law. Thus, in the U.S. governmental system the Supreme Court potentially wields the highest power.

From Wikipedia.com:

Some amount of interpretation is always necessary when a case involves a statute [or law]. Sometimes the words of a statute have a plain and straightforward meaning. But in most cases, there is some ambiguity or vagueness in the words of the statute that must be resolved by the judge. To find the meanings of statutes, judges use various tools and methods of statutory interpretation, including traditional canons of statutory interpretation, legislative history, and purpose.

Judges, then, must make interpretive decisions from written texts—much like Advanced Placement students. Judicial interpretive philosophies can vary greatly. Some judges are conservative, refusing to interpret a word beyond its exact wording. Other judges are liberal, discerning an underlying intent to the law (which is not verbalized) and applying to situations not expressly written.

The Supreme Court has the power to change or transform society (think Brown v. the Board of Education, or Roe v. Wade, or Gore v. Bush). The court’s interpretation of the law has—and forever will—affect the everyday lives of Americans.

For our class project, we will examine two particular Nineteenth-Century Supreme Court decisions.

The 1857 Dred Scott decision affirmed that slaves and descendants of slaves had no legal rights in this country. The court decision eventually resulted in the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, which finally bestowed those rights on African-Americans. The 1897 Plessy v. Ferguson decision affirmed the legality of segregation laws. It was not until the landmark 1964 Civil Rights legislation that the ramifications of this decision were obliterated.

How did the court arrive at such decisions that—from today’s standpoint—seem impossible? Here, we must examine the decisions themselves, understanding how the Supreme Court justices interpreted the law of the time. Based on written law, the justices used logical analysis (i.e., deductive and inductive reasoning) to arrive at their decision.

Our goal: Understand the interpretive analysis used by Supreme Court justices at specific points in United States history. Students will read the original decisions, along with relevant legal statutes, including the United States Constitution.

Source Materials:

1857 Dred Scott Decision:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott (full text link at bottom)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933t.html

1897 Plessy vs. Ferguson Decision:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy (full text link at bottom)

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=163&invol=537; http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=340

United States Constitution

http://www.house.gov/paul/constitutiontext.htm

TASKS:

1. Read the actual Supreme Court majority decision (the minority decision would be written by justices opposed to the majority decision).
2. Read relevant, supporting statutes, including passages from the United States Constitution.
3. As a group, discuss why the court ruled against both Scott and Plessy. Be prepared to explain your understanding.
4. On paper, as a group, compose answers to the following questions:
   1. Summarize the plaintiff’s case.
   2. Why did the court rule against your plaintiff?
   3. Identify the deductive or inductive arguments used to arrive at the decision.
   4. Based on your understanding of the law at that time, could the court have reasonably arrived at a different decision? Why or why not? (Note: Remember, the court decision has selected supporting legal statutes. Could other, non-referenced statutes, lead to a contrary decision?)
   5. What have you learned about interpreting the written law?
   6. In writing new laws, what do you think is most imperative?

large view Homer Plessy

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