Following Lincoln's justification, in his July 4 speech to Congress, for disregarding Taney's Merryman decision, [Attorney General] Bates issued an opinion justifying the President's action. It was not a very good opinion. It essentially argued thateach of the three branches of the federal government established by the Constitution was coequal with and independent of the other two. The President was thus not subordinate to the judicial branch, and so the latter could not order him, or his subordinates, to free Merryman. This proposition had been refuted by Chief Justice Marshall's opinion in Marbury v. Madison more than half a century earlier.Bates also described the suspension of habeas corpus as a "political" rather than a "judicial" matter and on that ground as well not subject to judicial intervention. The opinion would persuade only those who were already true believers.
However, current day Lincolnpimps wallow in that garbage which was so rightly dismissed by Rehnquist.
Rehnquist hit the nail on the head when he said that Lincoln's reasoning had been refuted more than a half century earlier by Chief Justice Marshall and that the Bates opinion pursuant to Lincoln's heresy was a poor one and would persuade only those who were already true believers.
Lincoln was lawfully REQUIRED to comply with the decision in Merryman. Instead, he chose to rape the Constitution.
Interesting choice of words on Rhenquist's part.