There was no case. There was an ex parte decision.
Now, Merryman -was- indicted for treason. He spent a total of 49 days in jail.
Instead of blasting the Lincoln administration for arresting him (he was arrested without Lincoln's knowledge, BTW) you ought to be lauding Lincoln's mercy for not giving him the kind of justice that the 40 loyal Texans got the next year in Gainesville, Tx, or the type the 22 loyal North Carolinians got from George Pickett or the 100+ Union POW's got from their captors at Saltville, VA, and on and on and on.
As you know, not one person arrested on habeas corpus was executed.
Also, there is no definitive figure on the number arrests on habeas corpus grounds, although 13,000 seems about right. Mercy!
But the so-called CSA arrested @ 4,000 people on similar charges and for similar reasons.
You neo-reb cretins have too long set the parameters of all this.
Lincoln always held out the hand of mercy and conciliation; the so-called CSA was always ready with a gibbet.
Walt
Downplaying the severity of conditions experienced by the victims of The Lincoln's act does not get you around that act itself, Walt. Nor does it make that act any less unconstitutional. Really. You should know better than to try that excuse. Try again.