Mayo Moran
Wednesday, May 21, 2014

So what are the ten cases that have had the biggest impact, not just on the law, but on our collective life more generally?  The world is a big place so I am going to try to focus on cases that have had the greatest impact on our own lives which means that there will  be more focus on jurisdictions that we interact with most—thus not the legal world in its true sense.  But unlike many of the articles and materials I’ve looked at, I don’t want to only consider cases in our home legal system. 

I sat down to sketch a few ideas about the cases that seemed to stand out to me in terms of large scale impact.  Here are some preliminary thoughts:

Of course, I must include Donoghue v Stevenson—the case with the marauding gastropod which not only has intriguing facts but which also began the slow displacement of contractual obligations as the dominant means of organizing  relations, forcing contract to ‘share the field’ with more generalized duties of care.  The fallout continues….as Lord Buckmaster predicted.

The landmark English anti-slavery case Somerset v Stewart (1772) in which Lord Mansfield held that the common law of England and Wales at least did not support the institution of chattel slavery.  American lists of the most important cases usually reference Dred Scott.  In my view however the impact of Somerset’s holding on the abolitionist movement makes it more significant, even though abolition in any significant sense was a very long time coming.

And while we’re on that point, Brown v Board of Education would be my top pick of the USSC cases whose impact is still reverberating.  I’d also put Roe v. Wade on that list.   

Another case that I think must be on the list is a case from the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.  The most significant is certainly the first IMT trial of more than 20 of the major war criminals (1945-46).  The Nuremberg Principles which set out guidelines for what counts as a war crime are just a small part of the legacy of this case.  But it will be a challenge to condense the case so it can be easily taught to students…suggestions welcome!  

What about a Canadian case?  There are lots of contenders for me on this one….Halpern, the Ontario Court of Appeal decision that legalized same sex marriage and led to the first legal same sex marriage is one important one.

But what about Aboriginal rights?  I’m not sure what the most important Canadian aboriginal rights case is.  And how would it compare in global importance to cases like the landmark Australian case of Mabo which invalidated the doctrine of terra nullius or the Marshall trilogy in the United States?

Some other questions I was pondering….what about the European system and the most significant case in terms of broader ramifications.  Perhaps Ireland vs UK holding that the British army interrogation practices with IRA detainees amounted to inhuman and degrading punishment.   And what about the first decision of the International Criminal Court or is it still too early to tell?

But now I look at my list and realize that with the exception of Donoghue virtually all of the cases are related to the human rights side of the legal spectrum, broadly understood.  Though private law governs so much of what is important about human relations, I hardly have any private law on my list (especially surprising given that I teach private law!!).  What should be on there in terms of key landmark cases and what areas—family law or labour law or trust law for example?  And what about the vast area of law that governs economic relations?  

So this is the beginning of my thinking on this, prompting, as you see, more questions than answers.  Please feel free to share your thoughts—it will be interesting!

Mayo

@MayoMoran

 

Comments

Submitted by Richard B. Jones on Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Dear Mayo: As I am now undertaking a deep immersion in the rules of equity, I have to offer Earl of Oxford's Case (1615), 1 Ch. Rep. 1. This decision, approved by Crown prerogative, established the paramountcy of equity and the Chancellor's court as a tempering control over the rigidity and formalism of the common law courts. It enabled the Chancery Courts and the law of equity to give real effect to the words of St German in 1528 that 'equytie is ordained ... to temper and myttygate the rigour of the laws'. It was an essential crossroad in the law of equity in the English-speaking legal world and enabled it to give effect and meaning to Aristotle's plea for justice with law. Kind regards Dick

Submitted by Jordan Palmer on Monday, June 2, 2014
Thank you for a stimulating conversation-starter! This is a very difficult and interesting question, since geography often impacts how far the influence of a case travels. Here are my best shots for the three cases which I believe were/are "heard 'round the world:" 1. Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd [1897] AC 22 This case enabled the rise of corporate financing without risk to shareholders, and is a foundation for the modern world corporate order. Adopted by the mercantilists of the Anglo-American world, it is perhaps no exaggeration to say that our modern corporate crisis/opportunity is attributable to the precepts of the case. 2. R v Oakes [1986] 1 SCR 103 For the maple syrup flavour. The concept of what "reasonable limits" means has been extremely influential in Canada, but I would argue that its balance between State and individual rights resonates throughout the English legal tradition (NZ's Bill of Rights Act is based on the Charter, but English and Australian decisions sometimes cite Oakes for a take on the balancing between liberty and limits). 3. Worcester v Georgia 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832) I'm tempted to put a hopeful case like Romer or Lawrence for the American portion, but this case, emblematic of "A Century of Dishonor," really to me highlights the corrosive nature political power (and expansionist greed) can have on the judicial process. A good decision which was unenforceable, Worcester unfortunately stands for the brutalization of aboriginal peoples in North America.

Submitted by Daniel Rubin on Monday, June 2, 2014
Professor Moran (as you will ever be to me), As I read your list, I came to the same reaction you did: what this list needs is more cases from the realm of private law and private ordering. Which got to me thinking, if were to reduce private law to one foundational principle (so that we could choose one case for this list), what would that principle be? Probably the concept of the reasonable person, right? On that basis, I would add Vaughan v. Menlove to the list. I think that's where we find the first explicit reference to the reasonable-person standard in our common law. In terms of private ordering, I would love to add something that we can consider the foundational corporate-law case. Dodge v. Ford? If there were one case that was accepted as the progenitor of the business judgment rule, I would choose that, but I don't know that there is one. Some other ideas, mostly US-centric, I'm afraid: Marbury v. Madison (the very concept of judicial review); Mapp v. Ohio (illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in a criminal trial); Texas v. Johnson (flag burning = protected free speech); Sony v. Universal City Studios (the “Betamax" case) (selling VCRs, which people use to tape tv shows, is not copyright infringement); Massachusetts v. EPA (the EPA can regulate CO2 and other greenhouse gases).

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