Judge Joseph Story and the case Prigg v. Pennsylvania Cover Image

Sędzia Joseph story i sprawa Prigg v. Pennsylvania
Judge Joseph Story and the case Prigg v. Pennsylvania

Author(s): Jerzy Zajadło
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, 19th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego
Keywords: 1842; American Courts; case law; conflicts of judge’s conscience;

Summary/Abstract: The main aim of the article is to analyze the origins, content and meaning of the judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States in case Prigg v. Pennsylvania from 1842.The Author underlines that the case is relatively unknown in Polish literature, while in American constitutionalism a great importance it attached to it. Despite the passage of time, it is used even in modern case law concerning the division of competences between federal and state authorities. The Author discusses the case of Prigg v. Pennsylvania on the background of other judgments of American courts in cases of slavery. He is interested primarily in the paradigmatic dimension of the judgment in the context of the conflicts of judge’s conscience. Judge Joseph Story, who was the author of the majority opinion, was known for his abolitionist views. However, the explanation of the decision which he presented was definitely pro-slavish. The article attempts to explain this dissonance by referring to the concept of the so-called subversion, which implies that a judge conceals the real motives of his/her decision and aims to implement hidden objectives. Indeed, Joseph Story himself considered the contested judgment as the “triumph of freedom”.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: XXXIII
  • Page Range: 447-470
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: Polish