Ostracism on trial: The limits of individual rights

Abstract

In 1947, a case of ostracism was tried in the Common Pleas Court of Wooster, county seat of Wayne County, Ohio. The plaintiff, Andrew J. Yoder, filed suit against an old Order Amish Bishop and two preachers asking for $40,000 in damages and a court injunction against a “boycott” that he alleged had been organized against hin throughout the Amish Church. The verdict was based on a concept of justice embodied inthe “reasonable man” doctrine. The jury intended to remedy severe“injustice” inflicted on the petitioner, a former member of the Old Order Amish Church, represented by the bishop and the preachers. The defendants, on the other hand, were steadfast in their belief that their actions were in compliance with the commandments of God— God's justice could not be questioned. This “Meidung” case, a public dispute between Amish mores and American Civil Law, could not solve the underlying issue of conflicting values. The trial led to results that were distasteful to the contesting parties, as well as to the jury, the presiding judge, the officials involved in executing the verdict, and the general public.