Ex parte Milligan

Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 2 (1866), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Lambdin Milligan, a civilian and a Southern sympathizer in Indiana, was arrested by the military in 1864, tried by a military commission, and sentenced to hang. He sought habeas corpus, arguing that trial by military commission was unconstitutional when civilian courts were still operating.

Significance

The Supreme Court held that trying civilians in military tribunals when civilian courts are open violates the Constitution. Justice Davis wrote that the Constitution is not suspended during wartime and that neither the President nor Congress could authorize military trials for civilians where the civil courts are functioning. This landmark decision on civil liberties during wartime was temporarily limited by Ex parte Quirin (1942) but reaffirmed in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004).

Category

US Federal Case Law