Ex parte Merryman, 17 F. Cas. 144 (1861), is a well-known U.S. federal court case which arose out of the American Civil War. Against President Abraham Lincoln's wishes, Chief Justice Roger Taney, sitting as a judge of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Maryland, ruled: "1. That the president [...] cannot suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, nor authorize a military officer to do it. 2. That a military officer has no right to arrest and detain a person not subject to the rules and articles of war [...] except in aid of the judicial authority, and subject to its control." ... This article is becoming very long. ... The presidential seal was first used in 1880 by President Rutherford B. Hayes and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. ... Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809—April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States (March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865). ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the judicial branch of... Chief Justice Taney Roger Brooke Taney (March 17, 1777–October 12, 1864) was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States from 1836 until his death in 1864. ... The United States Courts of Appeals (or circuit courts) are the mid-level appellate courts of the United States federal court system. ... For purposes of the federal judicial system, Congress has divided the United States into judicial districts. ... Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,417 sq mi (32,160 km²)  - Width 90 miles (145 km)  - Length 249 miles (400 km)  - % water 21  - Latitude 37°53N to 39°43N  - Longitude 75°4W to 79°33... In common law jurisdictions, habeas corpus, or more precisely habeas corpus ad subjiciendum, is a prerogative writ which requires the addressee to produce in court a person in its custody and justify his or her imprisonment. ...

Circumstances

Shortly after the April 12–April 14, 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter by Confederate forces, President Lincoln called for volunteer troops to reinforce Washington against possible hostilities originating in nearby Virginia. When the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment ("loosely organized and armed abolitionists from Massachusetts" according to Poole) responded to the call and entered Baltimore, Maryland as they transferred between train stations on their way to the capital, a riot broke out. Several civilians and soldiers were killed when shooting began. That same day, Lincoln wrote to Attorney General Edward Bates, requesting an opinion on the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Also in response to the riots, Baltimore's Mayor Brown and Maryland Governor Hicks declared that they would allow no more troop transfers to go through their territory, and gathered five hundred thousand dollars "for the defense of the city". (Poole) April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year (105 in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 261 days remaining. ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... Fort Sumter, located in Charleston, South Carolina, was named after General Thomas Sumter. ... Nickname: Monument City, Charm City, Mob Town[1][2], B-more Motto: The Greatest City in America,[3] Get in on it. ... Baltimore on April 19, 1861 The Baltimore riot of 1861 (also called the Pratt Street Riot and the Pratt Street Massacre) was an incident that took place on April 19, 1861 in Baltimore, Maryland between Confederate sympathizers and infantrymen of the United States Army. ... Seal of the United States Department of Justice The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice (see 28 U.S.C. Â§ 503) concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. ... Note: This article is about the American lawyer. ... In common law countries, habeas corpus (/heɪbiÉ™s kɔɹpÉ™s/), Latin for you [should] have the body, is the name of a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. ... George William Brown was the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland from 1860 to 1861. ... Thomas Hicks Thomas Holliday Hicks (b. ...

Lieutenant John Merryman, an officer in the Maryland cavalry, was part of the escort that ejected Union General Wynkoop and his Pennsylvanian forces from Maryland. He took a lead role in demolishing a bridge, so as to block any further troop movements. This was, nonetheless, probably more due to general dislike for the Union and hesitancy to become involved in the war than actual secessionist sentiment. (Poole) John Merryman (August 9, 1824 – November 15, 1881) Merryman was the petitioner in one of the best known habeas corpus cases of the American Civil War. ... Soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat are commonly known as cavalry (from French cavalerie). ...

While reluctant to do so, Lincoln eventually took the advice of his staff and wrote a letter to General Winfield Scott on April 27, 1861. In it, he allowed Scott (or an empowered subordinate) to suspend habeas corpus within the vicinity of the "military line" (Lincoln). This suspension was not announced, and was in fact carefully kept secret at first. By May, however, numerous delegates of the Maryland legislature had been arrested without grounds or even stated charges. Still, the suspension was not explicitly acknowledged. Merryman was at about this time also arrested and imprisoned at Fort McHenry. He swiftly protested this imprisonment and filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to release him from arbitrary imprisonment. Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866) was a United States Army general, diplomat, and presidential candidate. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star fort best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay. ...

The case

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Merryman's complaints went to the circuit judge of the area. The justices of the Supreme Court traditionally sat as circuit judges while the Supreme Court was not in session. (This practice, known as circuit riding, was effectively ended in 1869.) (Hall 145) For this reason, Merryman's complaint was heard by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. (Poole) Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties Libertarian Party State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest judicial body...

The clash between Taney and the various generals who essentially represented Lincoln is a good example of the conflict between idealism and pragmatism that characterizes much of the debate on this topic. Taney went by the lawbooks (although Taney was also a partisan opponent of Lincoln's Republican administration) and understandably raged against Lincoln spontaneously and unconstitutionally granting himself easily abused powers. Taney showed beyond the shadow of a doubt that Lincoln's actions were entirely contrary to written law. The real question, which Taney also addressed, was whether or not it was practically permissible for a President to take such actions. He argued that it was not, angrily observing that none of the Kings of England exercised such power, and that therefore in this respect Lincoln was proving more monarchical and despotic than any actual English monarch. He closed his argumentation with the following fiery language (Merryman): Idealism is an approach to philosophical enquiry that asserts that everything we experience is of a mental nature. ... Pragmatism is a school of epistemology that originated with Charles Sanders Peirce (who first stated the pragmatic maxim) and came to fruition in the early twentieth-century philosophies of William James and John Dewey. ... The British monarch or Sovereign is the head of state of the United Kingdom and in the British overseas territories. ...

These great and fundamental laws, which congress itself could not suspend, have been disregarded and suspended, like the writ of habeas corpus, by a military order, supported by force of arms. Such is the case now before me, and I can only say that if the authority which the constitution has confided to the judiciary department and judicial officers, may thus, upon any pretext or under any circumstances, be usurped by the military power, at its discretion, the people of the United States are no longer living under a government of laws, but every citizen holds life, liberty and property at the will and pleasure of the army officer in whose military district he may happen to be found.

Lincoln, citing Andrew Jackson before him, simply disregarded the ruling. Relying upon an 1880's manuscript from Lincoln's close friend Ward Hill Lamon, some scholars have contended that the President authorized then quickly aborted an arrest warrant against Taney in retaliation for the Merryman ruling. The manuscript and evidence are a relatively new discovery in the historical literature and the story's authenticity is hotly contested and controversial (see the Taney Arrest Warrant controversy). Ward Hill Lamon (January 6, 1828 - May 7, 1893) was a personal friend and bodyguard of the American President Abraham Lincoln. ... The Taney Arrest Warrant theory is a controversial story of recent discovery in Abraham Lincoln scholarship. ...

Lincoln responded to the Merryman decision by asking his Attorney General Edward Bates for an opinion supporting his suspension. He characterized the argument as one that is convincing only to a "true believer." It nevertheless formed the basis for Lincoln's July 4 speech to Congress in which he rhetorically asked "Are all the laws, but one, to go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated?" Lincoln subsequently expanded the zone within which the writ was suspended. After reconvening on July 4th Congress rejected a bill favored by Lincoln to sanction his suspensions. Between 1861 and 1863 several additional federal district and circuit court rulings affirmed Taney's opinion. Lincoln nevertheless continued making unauthorized suspensions for another two years until the Habeas Corpus Act of March 3, 1863 formally suspended the writ for him. Note: This article is about the American lawyer. ... For the United States holiday, the Fourth of July, see Independence Day (United States). ... Habeas Corpus Act 1679 Habeas Corpus Act of 1863 (US Civil War) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The Merryman decision is still among the best known Civil War-era court cases and also one of Taney's most famous opinions. Its legal argument holding that Congress alone may suspend the writ is noted for reiterating the opinion of John Marshall and the court in Ex Parte Bollman (1807) and was recently restated by the Supreme Court in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004). John Marshall (September 24, 1755 – July 6, 1835) was an American statesman and jurist who shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a center of power. ... Holding The Supreme Court had the power to order that a writ of habeas corpus be issued to release the petitioners from prison, because the Constitution grants that power to federal courts unless Congress suspends it. ... Holding U.S. citizens designated as enemy combatants by the Executive Branch have a right to challenge their detainment under the Due Process Clause. ...

References

• Hall, Kermit L. (Ed.) (1992). The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford University Press.
• Lincoln, Abraham (April 27, 1861). Letter to Winfield Scott. Cited in (1989) Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 237. New York: Library of America. —This is the letter in which Lincoln suspended habeas corpus.
• Poole, Patrick S. (1994). An Examination of Ex Parte Merryman.
• Rehnquist, William, Chief Justice (1997). Civil Liberty and the Civil War.
• Taney, Roger B., Chief Justice (1861). Ex parte Merryman. (alternate source) —Note that while Taney is named as Chief Justice, this was not properly a Supreme Court case. [Not an en banc Supreme Court Case. Taney himself notes in the decision that it was "[b]efore the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, at Chambers." In the case itself it's noted that "a writ of habeas corpus was issued by the chief justice of the United States, sitting at chambers" - not as a judge of the Circuit Court. Taney then orders the case to be "filed and recorded in the circuit court of the United States for the district of Maryland". If he was sitting as Circuit judge there would have been no need to order the decision filed in Baltimore.]