suspends
the writ of habeas corpus
I
chose to look at the commentary in the war of the rebellion. This documentary gives letters from several
military and government officials such as President Abraham Lincoln, Lieut.
Gen. Winfield Scott, U. S. Army, The Secretary of State, William II. Seward, President
Davis, of the Confederacy, and Attorney General, Edward Bates just to name a
few. The document also gave detailed
accounts of suspected and disloyal persons being arrested during the time of
tremendous unrest. However, the
commentary that caught my interest was the suspension of the writ of habeas
corpus by President Abraham Lincoln.
On April 27, 1961 President
Lincoln authorizes Lieut. Gen. Winfield Scott, U. S. Army, to suspend the writ
of habeas corpus in his discretion on any military line between Washington and
Philadelphia. The suspension of the writ
of habeas corpus would allow commanding officers at their discretion to arrest
and detain without resort to the ordinary processes and forms of law such
individuals as he might deem dangerous to the public safety. Lincoln’s response was prompted by the
outbreak of riots and militia action along the border-states which allowed
“disloyal persons” to be detained indefinitely without trial.
Lincoln’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus is an act that has
brought about several questions. However,
the issue is whether Congress or the President has the power to suspend the
writ of habeas corpus? The Constitution states in Article 1, section
9 of the Constitution, forbids the suspension of habeas corpus except,
"when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public safety may require
it." The period in which President
Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus was an especially crucial time for
the Union. If the President doesn’t take
action immediately the Union may be overrun by disloyal persons, guerrillas,
block-aide runners, and not to mention the secessionist.
During
this time several honorable government officials, as well as, prominent members
of the community were arrested. Congressman
Ely, of New York, captured on the Bull Run battlefield by the Confederates. Hon.
Arnold Harris, of Kentucky, arrested at Fairfax Court House, Va., and sent to Richmond
and Henry May, a member of Congress from Maryland. However, On May 25, federal troops arrested
John Merryman in Cockeysville, Maryland, for recruiting, training, and leading
a drill company for Confederate service. Merryman's lawyer promptly petitioned
Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, sitting as a trial judge, for a writ of
habeas corpus. This writ, sometimes called the Great Writ, is a judicial writ
addressed to a jailer ordering him to come to court with his prisoner and
explain why the prisoner is being held.
I believe the President behaved as a great leader would in turbulent times.
Sources:
TITLE: The war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. / Series 2 - Volume 2
AUTHOR: United States. War Dept., John Sheldon Moody, Calvin Duvall Cowles, Frederick Caryton Ainsworth, Robert N. Scott, Henry Martyn Lazelle, George Breckenridge Davis, Leslie J. Perry, Joseph William Kirkley PUBLISHER: Govt. Print. Off., Washington, 1897
http://digital.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moawar;idno=waro0002
Lincoln's Suspension of the Writ
of Habeas Corpus: An Historical and Constitutional Analysis
JAMES A. DUEHOLMVolume 29, Issue 2, Summer 2008
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.2629860.0029.205
I think it is interesting that even though the president faced opposition to enacting the law or presidential edict, or whatever it’s called, he still did it. It does take some guts to do something that is for the good of the country even when your own colleagues are against it. Lincoln could have gotten himself into a lot of trouble for doing what he did without congress behind him. It takes a lot of courage to do that. With that said, I think what he did was constitutionally wrong. He violated the 4th amendment which protects citizens from unlawful search and seizure, and holding someone without probable cause is a seizure and violates the rights that Lincoln swore to uphold. But in time of war, what are you gonna do? There were a lot of other terrible things that happened and that wasn’t the worst of them by a long shot.
ReplyDeleteWe will all note that "Bob Weise" is not the same person as your professor, "Rob Weise." I actually agree here with my partial namesake, though I think a Constitutional Challenge on the basis of the 4th amendment would get tricky. War time seems to allow the Executive branch some pretty broad powers. Taney held that only Congress can suspend the Writ; Lincoln's Justice Dept replied that it did, sort of, go through Congress.
ReplyDelete