Topic: ex parte Milligan

ex parte Milligan case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1866. By authorization of Congress, President Lincoln in 1863 suspended the writ of habeas corpus in cases where military officers held persons for offenses against the armed services. Army authorities had arrested Lambdin Milligan, a civilian who was involved in Copperhead, or pro-Confederate, activities in Indiana, and in 1864 he was tried by a military commission, convicted of fomenting rebellion, and condemned to death. The Supreme Court did not deal directly with the question of habeas corpus but with the limitation of martial... Read more