 Scalia noted that the "Dred Scott" decision had been written and championed by Taney and left the justice's reputation irrevocably tarnished.Taney, who was attempting to end the disruptive question of the future of slavery, wrote a decision that worsened sectional tensions and was considered to contribute to the American Civil War.Chief Justice John Roberts compared "Obergefell v. Hodges" (2015) to "Dred Scott", as another example of trying to settle a contentious issue through a ruling that went beyond the scope of the Constitution.