''Ex parte Yerger'', 75 U.S. (8 Wall.) 85 (1869), was a case heard by the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in which the court held that, under the

Judiciary Act of 1789 The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article III, Secti ...

, it is authorized to issue writs of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

Background

In June 1869

Edward M. Yerger Edward M. Yerger (1828 – April 22, 1875) was an American newspaper editor and military officer. After a career in the newspaper industry, Yerger was arrested for the stabbing death of the provisional mayor of Jackson, Mississippi. His claim of ...

stabbed to death Maj. Joseph G. Crane, who was the acting

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

. Military authorities arrested Yerger and placed him on trial before a military commission. During the trial Yerger sought a writ of habeas corpus from the circuit court under the Judiciary Act of 1789, but the circuit court upheld the military tribunal's

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

over the proceeding under the First Reconstruction Act of 1867. When the circuit court denied him relief, he refiled the case directly to the Supreme Court.

Opinion of the court

Chief Justice

Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States. He also served as the 23rd governor of Ohio, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, a ...

held that while the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

had enacted legislation in 1868 eliminating one route to a habeas corpus hearing before the court (see ''Ex parte McCardle, 74 U.S. 506 (1868)''), the Court could still hear cases of a similar nature in the first instance under the

. Chase concluded that the Court had jurisdiction to hear the case and the power to direct its

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

at a military officer.

Subsequent developments

At this point the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and Yerger's counsel worked out a compromise in which the prisoner was turned over to civilian authorities for prosecution in Mississippi. The Court was not actually forced to confront Congress on issues involving Reconstruction, and Congress in turn abandoned plans to completely abolish the Court's

appellate In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

jurisdiction in habeas corpus cases. Yerger was placed in a Mississippi jail, but released on bail and quickly moved to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, where he died in 1875, never having been tried for murder.

References

*PAUL FINKELMAN & MELVIN I. UROFSKY, Ex parte Yerger, in LANDMARK DECISIONS OF THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT (2003), available in CQ ELECTRONIC LIBRARY, CQ Supreme Court Collection, http://library.cqpress.com/scc/lndmrk03-113-6430-338597 (last visited April 4, 2007). Document ID: lndmrk03-113-6430-338597.

External links

* * {{SCOTUS-stub United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Chase Court 1869 in United States case law United States habeas corpus case law Jackson, Mississippi Original habeas cases Criminal cases in the Chase Court

Background

Opinion of the court

Subsequent developments

See also

References

External links