[WhiskeyPapa]

Had the issue come before the Supreme Court in the form of a -case-, which it never did

It never came before the Supreme Court because The Lincoln refused to appeal it there even though it was his burden to do so. Try again.

Nope. The issue could have been brought before the Supreme Court by any number of means. Why it was not is probably a story in itself. But Taney could have kept hitting that hot button, but he never did.

Walt

[GOPcapitalist]

Nope. The issue could have been brought before the Supreme Court by any number of means.

Not really. The Supreme Court uses pretty strict guidelines to decide which cases it accepts. Among them, a party has to have standing in the case and has to have reason to appeal the lower court's ruling. In Merryman, the parties with standing and reason to appeal were The Lincoln, his administration, and the military. None of them did so.