The court originally rules in favor of Sanford, against Scott, but they did not take into account the larger issues of African American citizenship and the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise. Justice Nelson, who was chosen from the majority to write the decision, ended up only conveying his opinion, so the court threw it out and had Cheif Justice Roger Taney write another one that would encompass the majority opinion as well as all the issues in question.
President-elect James Buchanan touched upont he issue in his inaugural address on March 4th 1857, when the case was close to being closed, saying that it was soon to be settled and that he would agree to whatever decision the Supreme Court made. Two days later, the justices again gathered, their majority rule to be read by Taney who was at this point old and sickly. Taney first addressed the question of African American citizenship, stating that even freedmen were not citizens and therefore had no right under the constitution to sue in court. Taney then addressed the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise, saying that Congress did not have the right to deny any citizens of a territory under United States control the rights of liberty or property without due process of law. Taney argued that the Consitution made no distinction between slaves and property, and reasoned that the Missouri Compromise denied slaveholding citizens their porperty in the form of slaves, therefore it was unconsitutional. Finally, Taney made the decision that since Scott brought the case in Missouri, a slave state, he was to be considered a slave. Therefore, due to all of these reasons, Taney declared the case to be dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction.
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