Slavery and the Republic of Texas Supreme Court: What Can we Learn?
Listen now
Description
Back during the pandemic, I got a copy of "Dallam's Decisions." It’s a one-volume work with all the opinions of the short-lived Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas (1840-45, give or take).   It’s fascinating stuff, some of that court’s work is terrible, and some is really insightful.  I wrote down some notes about the three cases from that court dealing with slavery, and recently got around to spinning those notes out into a short article. That article just came out in the “Journal of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society,” a link is here, starting on page 75.  It looks at three cases, I think those cases offer some good insights about our world as well as the 1840s. 
More Episodes
In this episode, I interview my old friend Ben Voth, a professor of rhetoric and the director of debate at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In 2019, Ben wrote a book called James Farmer Jr.: The Great Debater, which discusses how the strategies of civil-rights icon James Farmer were...
Published 03/10/24
Published 03/10/24
With apologies for the pun, the Fifteenth Court of Appeals faces an “unprecedented” situation.  Unlike the other intermediate courts of appeal in Texas, the newly created Fifteenth Court of Appeals has no immediate predecessor.  The Legislature gave it statewide jurisdiction over specific kinds...
Published 02/11/24