Ex parte Merryman

Circuit court decision 1861 dealing with the right of the US president to restrict the civilian court under martial law for secessionist activities. Merryman, a Baltimore citizen, received a writ of habeas corpus from the acting circuit court judge, Chief Justice Taney. Taney ordered that Merryman be brought to trial or released and found the military in contempt of court when, under the authority of President Lincoln, it refused to comply. Taney declared that Lincoln was in violation of the Constitution, saying only Congress had the right to suspend habeas corpus. The case never reached the US Supreme Court.