Tuesday, November 07, 2006

On a suspenseful day

It's repugnant to think that there was such a thing as "slave jurisprudence." In part of the author's opening he says, "Over the . . . years, I read a number of the court’s slave cases hoping, largely in vain, to find some redeeming words, some sign of revulsion or, at least, distaste for the task of resolving the legal issues arising from the commerce in humans. Finally, I found a case that chronicles one bright spot in those dark days of jurisprudence — a case in which the court sorted out the legal ramifications of the Emancipation Proclamation, described by one of the justices as the 'noblest paper since the declaration of independence by our forefathers.' This is the story of that decision." Everyone made aware of this article is passing it along to others. The subheadings of the article include "The Justices," "The Lawyers," "The Arguments," "The Possible Dates," and "The Opinion," followed by a conclusion and extensive footnotes. These cases were considered right here in Austin, Texas. This is from the Texas Bar Journal November 2006 issue, page 948: "The Supreme Court of Texas and the Emancipation Cases" (by Robert B. Gilbreath). I'd like to see this article expanded and made available in a national publication. Nobody needs a specific interest in the law to be drawn in by this piece, only an interest in the history of this state and this republic and how they have come to be what they are today.

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