One thing is clear, Ex Parte Merryman was not a Supreme Court decision. It was not heard by the full court, the matter did not meet the criteria necessary for a hearing by the Supreme Court, so for rustbucket or anyone else to hold it up as evidence that Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus was unconstitutional is just plain false. At best, Ex Parte Merryman shows us how Chief Justice Taney would have voted had the matter appeared before the Supreme Court. But it did not. Taney's muddying the water by invoking his Chief Justice title notwithstanding.
Exactly. As the case I posted makes clear, there’s a distinct difference between the decision of a judge and the decision of a court. Even if it had been a decision of the Maryland Circuit, it could have been said to have been found unconstitutional by a court, but Taney’s opinion in support of his writ simply isn’t a decision by any court at all.