Which was tried first: Goodridge v. Department of Public Health or Dred Scott v. Sandford?
Dred Scott v. Sandford Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857) , also known simply as the Dred Scott case, was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on US labor law and constitutional law. It held that "a negro, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S.], and sold as slaves", whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court, and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. Dred Scott, an enslaved man of "the negro African race" who had been taken by his owners to free states and territories, attempted to sue for his freedom. In a 7–2 decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the court denied Scott's request. The decision was only the second time that the Supreme Court had ruled an Act of Congress to be unconstitutional.
Martin Mahoney Martin Vincent Mahoney (February 22, 1915 - August 22, 1969) was a Scott County, Minnesota justice of the peace who presided over the initial trial in the case of "First National Bank of Montgomery v. Jerome Daly", Dec. 9, 1968 (Justice Court, Township of Credit River, Scott County, Minnesota), also known as the "Credit River" case. This case has been cited by various conspiracy theorists and anti-Federal Reserve System protesters as authority for the proposition that foreclosure is illegal. According to a statement published at the Minnesota State Law Library web site, the "Credit River" decision is not legal precedent, since it was undertaken by a justice of the peace (see also Subject-matter jurisdiction), and was eventually overruled by other court decisions. The defendant, Jerome Daly, was a longtime tax protester and attorney who was later disbarred by a decision of the Minnesota Supreme Court.