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Article: Election-ending decision is unlikely to shape society.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- December 20, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Every constitutional scholar keeps a private hit list of the Supreme Court's all-time best and worst decisions. The consensus pick for the court's worst action is the Dred Scott decision of 1857 permitting the extension of slavery to the territories, closely followed by the Plessy decision of 1896 that provided legal cover for the emerging regime of racial segregation.
On the other side of the ledger, Brown v. Board of Education (1954) is always celebrated as the court's most heroic act because it signaled the end of segregation. And Roe v. Wade, the abortion decision of 1973, remains an object of controversy, deeply dividing vocal segments of the public as well ...