- Joined
- Oct 22, 2014
Lincoln first suspended Habeas Corpus on April 27, 1861. Less than a month later the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Maryland under the leadership of Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney ruled the suspension unconstitutional, stating that only Congress could suspend Habeas Corpus. Lincoln ignored the ruling and even had a prominent newspaperman who editorialized against his Court defiance thrown in jail. The U. S. Congress did not enact a bill authorizing the President to suspend Habeas Corpus until March 1863.Davis (like Lincoln) did also suspend the writ of habeus corpus in the south so he was no saint when it came to civil liberties.
In contrast, Jefferson Davis did not suspend Habeas Corpus until after the Congress enacted a bill authorizing him to do so on February 27, 1862.