Supreme Court Opinions
by United States Supreme Court
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1803-1857
- Language
- English
- Length
- Medium · 200 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Difficult4 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe United States ReportsUnited States Government Printing OfficeThe opinions are public documents; free authoritative texts are available from the Library of Congress and Cornell's Legal Information Institute.
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A short reader of early American judicial opinions, usually assigned with section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789. In Marbury v. Madison of 1803, Chief Justice Marshall holds that a law repugnant to the Constitution is void and that it is for the courts to say so, while declining the jurisdiction Congress had tried to give the Court. Justice Gibson's dissent in Eakin v. Raub, a Pennsylvania case of 1825, argues the other side, that the legislature answers to the people rather than to judges. In Dred Scott v. Sandford of 1857, Chief Justice Taney holds that a Black American cannot be a citizen and that Congress cannot bar slavery from the territories; Justice Curtis dissents.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Supreme Court Opinions are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
