Ex Parte Yarbrough
United States Supreme Court
110 U.S. 651 (1884)
- Written by Abby Roughton, JD
Facts
Following the Civil War, Congress passed laws to enforce the Reconstruction Amendments (i.e., the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments). Among other things, these laws made it a crime to interfere with a citizen’s lawful exercise of the right to vote in a federal election. Jasper Yarbrough and seven other individuals (defendants) were charged with conspiring to intimidate Berry Saunders, a United States citizen of African descent, in his exercise of the right to vote in a congressional election. The indictment alleged that Yarbrough and the others had physically assaulted and wounded Saunders in executing their conspiracy of intimidation. Yarbrough and the others were tried and convicted, and a habeas corpus petition was filed on their behalf to challenge the legality of their trial, convictions, and sentences.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Miller, J.)
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