Thursday, April 17, 2008
The Supension of Habeas Corpus
My final research topic is on whether President Lincoln had the constitutional power to suspend habeas corpus. my argument will be that President Lincoln had the power to suspend habeas corpus during war time as commander and chief of the military the suspension of habeas corpus is under article IV of the Constitution and has no clear indication of what branch of the government it is granted to. My question; question is whether people believe the President Lincoln had the power to suspend habeas corpus through his war time powers as the commander and chief or was he in direct violation of the Constitution.
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3 comments:
The only place suspension is mentioned is in Article I. This raises the question of whether it is only within Congress's power to suspend habeas corpus. It might help here to go back and look at the Constitutional Convention debates on the subject. You can find them on the LOC website: A Century of Lawmaking for a new nation (link is on the home page of constitutional studies).
As for Article IV, this is the "protection" clause (and specify where it is).
According to the rulings at this source, the power of suspension was relegated to Congress specifically. This contrary ruling was apparently ignored by Lincoln and the military:
http://www.civil-liberties.com/pages/suspension.htm
Lincoln was inaugurated and South Carolina secede from the Union. Fort Sumter was under attack and Lincoln ordered a naval blockade on all ships in the southern ports. This was an act of war before Congress declared war which it declared 3 months later. Prize was I believe a Captain of a ship that was not allowed to come into port. He sued declaring the President does not have the right to use force because a declaration of war had not been declared by Congress. The Supreme Court ruled in The Prize Case that though Lincoln authorized the use of force without an official declaration of war, he had the right to do so because the state of war was at hand and Congress declared war later. Therefore, Congress's declaration of war retroactively covered Lincoln in using force for the blockade.
Could this also justify Lincoln for suspending habeas corpus prior to Congress suspending it by once be justified again as a retroactive covering as the Court ruled in the Prize Case?
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