Ex Parte Merryman
United States Circuit Court for the District of Maryland
17 F. Cas. 144 (1861)
Facts
John Merryman (defendant) was a lieutenant in the Maryland militia. Merryman was arrested and accused of destroying railroad bridges to prevent Union troops from traveling through Baltimore. Merryman filed a writ of habeas corpus, which President Lincoln had suspended.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Taney, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 707,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 44,500 briefs, keyed to 983 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.