Show the SUPREME COURT COURI cpr AND HOW c IT WORKS shield 0 of protection by ROBERT KOBERT MERRILL HE constitution of the TUni united ted states is a law for rulers and people equally in i war and in peace and cov covers e rs with the shield of its protection all classes of men at all times and under all circumstances that quotation is from an opinion rendered by the supreme court of the united states in one of its most famous decisions the facts in the case are arc these in october 1864 lambdin P milligan was sentenced to death on the gallows the sentence was declared void why because he had been denied his constitutional right of trial by jury in a civil court the supreme court of the united states to which he appealed made I 1 that ruling tried in military court milligan a citizen of the state of indiana was arrested on charges of disloyalty to the union cause although not a member of the army he be was tried and sentenced before a military commission despite the fact that in the city of indianapolis where the trial was held the civil courts were open citing these circumstances and the fact that no indictment had been found against him milligan hied filed a petition to be discharged the case eventually reached the supreme court at washington learned and eloquent argument was heard on both sides but the court based the decision on the constitution ution and held that one of its guarantees was broken when milligan was denied a trial by jury the great minds of the country explained the formal opinion loft of the court have differed on the correct interpretation to be given to various provisions of the federal constitution and judicial decision has been often invoked to settle their true meaning but until recently no one ever doubted that the right of trial by fury was fortified in the organic law against the power of attack calls it grave question it is now assailed but if ideas can be expressed in words and language an has any meaning this right one of the most valuable in a free country is preserved to every one accused of crime who is not attached to the army or navy or militia iii in actual service the opinion pointed out that tha t milligan when arrested and convicted by a military commission was not a resident of a rebellious state or a prisoner of war but a citizen of indiana who had never been in the military or naval service no graver question it continued was ever considered by this court nor one which more nearly concerns the rights of the whole people for it is the birthright of every american citizen when charged with crime to be tried and punished according to law by the protection of the law ia w human rights are secured withdraw that protection and they are at the mercy inerny of wicked rulers or the clamor of an excited people if there was law to justify this military trial it is not our province to interfere if there was not it is our duty to declare the nullity of the whole proceedings again the opinion cited the constitutional rights established tor for the american citizen and declared constitution Is yardstick the decision of this question does not depend on argument or judicial precedents numerous and highly illustrative as they are these precedents inform us of the extent of the struggle to pre preserve verve liberty and to relieve those in civil eife ife from military trials the founders of our government were familiar with the history of that struggle and secured in a written constitution every right which the people had wrested from power during a contest of ages by that constitution and laws authorized by it this question must be determined this was not th the e only death sentence set aside by the supreme court because it found that constitutional tut ional rights had been violated it had also ruled against the third degree as a method of obtaining evidence on which convictions were based the rack and torture chamber it pronounced may not be substituted for the witness stand C 0 western newspaper union |