Court Cases
Although our courtrooms have been full for hundreds of years, there are always situations that do not yet have a precedent. Our courts are set to rule on tons of different cases, but when a unique case comes through, sometimes it has to go to a higher court to get another ruling. When an unprecedented case goes to a local court, it can then be appealed to a federal and then eventually to the supreme court. Famous supreme court cases have stuck in our minds as well as our culture. When a case goes to the supreme court, you can bet that it is important and the ruling may have a profound effect on the entire country, if not the world. Here are four of the most important supreme court cases.
1. Dred Scott v. Sandford – These types of supreme court cases can be a bit unsettling. We hope that supreme court cases will uphold or rights as human beings, but that is not always the case. In 1857, a slave named Dred Scott sued for his freedom, but the supreme court ruled that people of color living in the United States were not considered citizens and therefore did not have any rights. This was a dark time in our country’s history.
2. Plessy v. Ferguson – Another one of the supreme court cases that sully our country’s history. Plessy v. Ferguson was an 1896 case in which the supreme court ruled in favor of the “seperate but equal” law. The “separate but equal” law said that as long as both races were given the same amenities, it is lawful to keep them separated.
3. Brown v. The Board of Education – This was an incredibly important supreme court case. Before the ruling, white and black children were forced to go to different schools. Thankfully this is one of the supreme court cases where the supreme court made the right decision. During this 1954 case, the supreme court ruled that the “separate but equal” laws were unconstitutional and did not belong in our society. This is one of the landmark supreme court cases in terms of race relations.
4. Roe v. Wade – Supreme court cases are often very controversial, and this is no exception. During this case it was ruled that abortions will be legal as long as it is within the first seven months of pregnancy. Supreme court cases have always had opposing sides that had strong opinions about the outcome, but Roe v. Wade is a supreme court decision that still polarizes a large amount of citizens to this day.
The supreme court makes landmark decisions every time they hear a case. That is a part of a supreme court justice’s job description. There have been a number of supreme court cases where basically the wrong ruling was made, but thankfully future supreme court justices learned from the errors of the past and have made better decisions this time around, especially in cases dealing with race relations.
