State v. Mann: Why Ruffin?

Abstract

Why did Thomas Ruffin write his opinion in State v. Mann as he did and when he did? This Article argues that he did so to establish himself as a judge who would fulfill the obligations of an honorable Southerner to demonstrate courage and eloquence. The opinion in Mann may also reflect some of the tensions between proslavery ideology and the South's Christian commitments, as well as ideas about the proper distribution of authority over slavery's regulation between judges and juries as representativesof the community.