Maryland removes Dred Scott ruling author's statue
Breaking Legal News
A statue of the U.S. Supreme Court justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery and denied citizenship to African Americans was removed from the grounds of the Maryland State House early Friday.
The statue of Roger B. Taney was lifted away by a crane at about 2 a.m. It was lowered into a truck and driven away to storage.
The bronze statue was erected in 1872, just outside the original front door of the State House.
Three of the four voting members of the State House Trust voted by email Wednesday to move the statue. House Speaker Michael Busch, a Democrat who was one of the three who voted to remove it, wrote this week that the statue "doesn't belong" on the grounds.
His comments came after the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend, with clashes between white nationalists and counter-protesters. A woman was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of people who were there to condemn the white nationalists, who had rallied against Charlottesville officials' decision to remove a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Related listings
-
Supreme Court rules states can count late-arriving mailed ballots
Breaking Legal News 07/02/2026The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day, a persistent target of President Donald Trump.The 5-4 decision rejected a Republican-led attack on laws in more than half the states and the District of C...
-
Trump's name is gone from the Kennedy Center's facade after court rulings
Breaking Legal News 06/14/2026The curtain may have come down for President Donald Trump at the Kennedy Center but the tarp stays up for now.Matt Floca, executive director and chief operating officer of the performing arts venue, told a federal court Saturday that the institution ...
-
Court to hear arguments over push to end legal protections for migrants from Haiti
Breaking Legal News 03/15/2026The Supreme Court will hear arguments over the Trump administration’s push to end legal protections for people fleeing war and natural disaster from countries around the world, including Haiti and Syria.The court declined, though, to immediatel...