The courts? What courts? You mean Taney?
There was no case, there was an Ex Parte decision by a man who showed in Dred Scott that he cared nothing for the law.
Walt
Yes Walt. Roger Taney, the properly seated United States Chief Justice serving on the U.S. Circuit Court at the time. You see, Walt. Under the American judicial system cases typically don't go straight to the Supreme Court first. They start in lower courts and work their way up on appeals. The U.S. Circuit Court is the one right below the Supreme Court, and the loser in cases before the Circuit Court can appeal them to the Supreme Court. The Lincoln did not do so.
There was no case, there was an Ex Parte decision
Ex parte rulings are made on cases, Walt. They happen when one of the parties refuses to appear before the court on a case, and in Merryman the military authorities refused Taney's summons to produce a writ. Try again.