LAD #18 Dred Scott vs. Sanford Decision

Summary of the Decision of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney in the Dred Scott vs. Sanford Case, 1857:

Roger Taney had been chosen to write the majority opinion of the court in the Scott vs. Sanford Case, which would include considerations of Negro Citizenship and the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise, after a rejected opinion originally written by Justice Nelson. President elect James Buchanan even threw his support to the Supreme Court in his Presidential inauguration before the case had been settled.

Taney reported in a low voice the "shameful decision" of the Court on March 6th, 1857. In regards to the citizenship of Negros, Taney claimed that Negros, even free ones, were imported to America as slaves and are thus not legal citizens. Thus, without citizenship, they do not enjoy the privilege to sue in Federal Court

Furthermore, Taney stated that real citizens of the U.S. (in this case slaveowners) could not be deprived of life, liberty, or property anywhere in the U.S., including American territories. As slaves were not distinguished from other forms of property, and the Missouri Compromise deprived slaveholding citizens of their "property", the Missouri Compromise was thus declared unconstitutional.

Lastly, Dred Scott hoped that he could be declared free because of his stay in the free state Illinois. Unfortunately, Taney declared that the status of the slave depended on the laws of the state of residence when they brought the suit to Court, which was for Scott Missouri. The case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, sent to the lower court with directions to again dismiss it, and thus the ruling of the Missouri Supreme Court in Sanford's favor  was upheld. Dred Scott was still a slave.