The Melville Fuller statue should keep its place by the Kennebec County Courthouse (“Maine Supreme Court questions Melville Fuller statue outside Kennebec County courthouse,” Aug. 12). The horrible Plessy v. Ferguson decision legally justified racial discrimination until 1954, but it is unfair to condemn any judicial career based upon a decision authored by another.
Chief Justice Melville Fuller is the only Maine native appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court (1889-1910). His Court limited the control of the federal government over states, businesses and individuals. He wrote opinions striking down the federal income tax and establishing the principle of “equal and impartial justice under the law.”
The renowned Oliver Wendell Holmes praised him because of Fuller’s amiability and ceaseless efforts to encourage collegiality, civility and mutual respect among his strong-willed peers. Fuller inaugurated the still-practiced custom that justices greet and shake hands before each conference.
Plessy v. Ferguson was a product of its time and culture. Of the seven justices comprising the majority in Plessy, four were nominated by anti-slavery Republicans (including the author and another appointed by Abraham Lincoln). Three were Democrats, including Justice Fuller.
In 1896, “separate but equal” was established national practice, including Boston and the District of Columbia. The opinion endorsed the concept but founded its holding on earlier cases ruling the 14th Amendment did not protect individuals and the Constitution could not bar state regulation. Justice Fuller was following recently established precedent. It was not until the 1960s that the Supreme Court started a long process of giving individuals the protections of the Bill of Rights.
Bob Fuller did not donate this statue to honor racial discrimination. We may characterize historical characters through the narrow lens of today’s issues, but Chief Justice Fuller’s fight for equal justice under the law and his peacemaking legacy of encouraging civility and mutual respect between partisan foes justify retaining his statue.
Steve Hayes
Augusta
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