The Supreme Court's Top Five Worst Rulings

04/06/11

But not at Pepperdine University's School of Law, where, last week, a group of legal scholars met to discuss five of the worst decisions the Supreme Court has ever made - to not only examine where the justice system failed, but to educate themselves and future generations about what to do, and what not to do.

Here are the Top 5, in date order:

1857 - Dred Scott vs. Sandford

1896 - Plessy vs. Ferguson

1927 - Buck vs. Bell

1938 - Erie vs. Tompkins

1944 - Korematsu vs. United States

Dred Scott v. Sandford essentially held that people of African descent brought to the United States as slaves were not protected by the Constitution, nor could they be U.S. citizens. Scott tried to sue and lost, for his and his family's freedom.

In the April 2nd latimes.com article, ''Legal scholars examine the U.S. high court's 'Supreme Mistakes''', Daniel Farber, a UC Berkeley law  professor, was quoted as saying of the decision: "It was a deeply racist opinion that goes far out of its way to warmly embrace the institution of slavery.'' He also went on to say ''the decision arguably led to the Civil War and hundreds of thousands of deaths.''

Plessy v. Ferguson upheld a Louisiana law requiring the racial segregation of railway passengers, invoking the doctrine of 'separate but equal.'

Buck v. Bell upheld a Virginia law permitting the sexual sterilization of institutionalized people, as well as those mentally challenged.

Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins rejected almost 100 years of federal civil case law applied in states without statutory guidance. Basically, the ruling made 'forum shopping' possible - the situation where litigants are able to choose a court where they think they'll receive an outcome in their favor.

According to the same April 2^nd latimes.com article, Akhil Amar, a Yale University law professor, made the observation that three of the five cases centered on racism, and that the ruling of each was based on the others; Plessy vs. Ferguson cited Dred Scott in its explanation, and Korematsu cited Plessy v. Ferguson as a precedent.

Tom Best, acting dean of Pepperdine's law school was quoted as saying: ''These cases show that the Supreme Court does make mistakes, that the justices aren't infallible. They show that the justices will be subject to the same interests and pressures of society at the time they make decisions as any other American.''

Put another way, it might be said the justices made the best decisions they could at the time with the information, values and belief systems they had.

And, put another way, it might be said that the justices were playing God.