What was the key outcome of the Dred Scott Supreme Court case?

The key outcome of the Dred Scott Supreme Court case was that the Court ruled enslaved individuals, regardless of whether they were in free or slave territories, were not considered U.S. citizens and therefore lacked the legal standing to sue in federal court. This decision, delivered in 1857, had profound implications for the status of African Americans and the nature of citizenship in the United States. By asserting that Scott, as a person of African descent, could not claim citizenship, the ruling denied any legal rights to enslaved people and further entrenched the institution of slavery within American law. This case highlighted the deeply rooted systemic racism in the judicial system and significantly influenced the national discourse on slavery and civil rights, ultimately contributing to the tensions leading up to the Civil War.