Panel Delays Review of Dred Scott Opinion Author Statue

CROWNSVILLE, Md. (AP) — A state panel is postponing its review of a plan to remove from the grounds of Frederick City Hall a statue of the Supreme Court chief justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision affirming slavery.

Spokesman John Coleman says the Maryland Historical Trust's Easement Committee has postponed until Monday a meeting that had been scheduled Tuesday in Crownsville. The committee makes recommendations to the agency's director.

Frederick's Board of Alderman voted unanimously in October in favor of removing the bust of Roger Brooke Taney. The plan also must be reviewed by the local Historic Preservation Commission.

The statue dates to 1931. Some consider it offensive while others say it's an indelible part of the city's history.

Taney practiced law in Frederick before becoming the nation's fifth chief justice.

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