In a recent interview, Maria Lazar, a conservative candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, appeared not to know basic facts about the Dred Scott decision, one of the most pivotal rulings in the history of American jurisprudence.

Lazar currently sits on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. She is running in the April 17 election to replace retiring conservative Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley.

The Dred Scott decision was an 1857 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said the Constitution did not grant full citizenship rights to Black people. Lazar pointed to the ruling in an October 1, 2025 radio interview as an example of a case that was wrongly decided but later overturned by the court.

“Precedent doesn’t mean that you never overturn a case,” Lazar said. “I mean, there are cases, for example, Dred Scott and some other appalling cases that the U.S. Supreme Court issued that deservedly should have been overturned.”

There’s just one problem: the court never overturned the Dred Scott decision. Instead, it was effectively nullified by new amendments to the Constitution: the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, the 14th Amendment extending full citizenship rights to Black people, and the 15th Amendment prohibiting the government from infringing a citizen’s right to vote.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is currently composed of four liberals and three conservatives. The upcoming April 7 election will determine whether the liberal majority becomes more entrenched, or remains unchanged. The court will likely hear a case on congressional redistricting once the new judge is seated.

Lazar’s liberal opponent is Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor. Taylor has been endorsed by Sen. Tammy Baldwin and the AFL-CIO.

Reprinted with permission from American Journal News