Ex parte Milligan

E879576

United States Supreme Court case habeas corpus case legal decision

Ex parte Milligan is an 1866 U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited the use of military tribunals for civilians when civil courts are open, reinforcing constitutional protections during wartime.

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All labels observed (1)

Label	Occurrences
Ex parte Milligan canonical	7

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T10673742 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Ex parte Milligan
Context triple: [Chase Court, notableCase, Ex parte Milligan]

A. Ableman v. Booth
Ableman v. Booth was an 1859 U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed federal supremacy over state courts in enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act before the Civil War.
B. United States v. Cruikshank
United States v. Cruikshank was an 1876 U.S. Supreme Court decision that severely limited federal enforcement of civil rights protections, especially against racially motivated violence in the Reconstruction-era South.
C. Ex parte Merryman
Ex parte Merryman was an 1861 U.S. federal court case in which Chief Justice Roger B. Taney challenged President Abraham Lincoln’s authority to suspend the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War.
D. Slaughter-House Cases
The Slaughter-House Cases were an 1873 U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowly interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause, significantly limiting its protection of civil rights against state infringement.
E. Ex parte McCardle
Ex parte McCardle is an 1869 U.S. Supreme Court case best known for affirming Congress’s power to limit the Court’s appellate jurisdiction under Article III of the Constitution.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Ex parte Milligan
Target entity description: Ex parte Milligan is an 1866 U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited the use of military tribunals for civilians when civil courts are open, reinforcing constitutional protections during wartime.

A. Ableman v. Booth
Ableman v. Booth was an 1859 U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed federal supremacy over state courts in enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act before the Civil War.
B. United States v. Cruikshank
United States v. Cruikshank was an 1876 U.S. Supreme Court decision that severely limited federal enforcement of civil rights protections, especially against racially motivated violence in the Reconstruction-era South.
C. Ex parte Merryman
Ex parte Merryman was an 1861 U.S. federal court case in which Chief Justice Roger B. Taney challenged President Abraham Lincoln’s authority to suspend the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War.
D. Slaughter-House Cases
The Slaughter-House Cases were an 1873 U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowly interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause, significantly limiting its protection of civil rights against state infringement.
E. Ex parte McCardle
Ex parte McCardle is an 1869 U.S. Supreme Court case best known for affirming Congress’s power to limit the Court’s appellate jurisdiction under Article III of the Constitution.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States Supreme Court case ⓘ habeas corpus case ⓘ legal decision ⓘ
areaOfLaw	civil liberties ⓘ constitutional law ⓘ military law ⓘ
backgroundEvent	American Civil War ⓘ
citation	18 L. Ed. 281 ⓘ 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 2 ⓘ
concurringOpinionBy	Noah H. Swayne ⓘ Salmon P. Chase ⓘ Samuel F. Miller NERFINISHED ⓘ Stephen J. Field ⓘ
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted	Article III of the United States Constitution ⓘ Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ linked to: U.S. Constitution, Sixth Amendment Suspension Clause ⓘ
country	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
court	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate	1866-04-03 ⓘ
fullCaseName	Ex parte Milligan ⓘ
hasJurisdiction	United States federal law ⓘ
holding	military tribunals cannot try civilians when civil courts are open and functioning ⓘ the application of military tribunals to citizens when civilian courts are open is unconstitutional ⓘ the laws and Constitution of the United States are not suspended in wartime in loyal states where courts are open ⓘ
impact	limited federal government’s ability to use military tribunals for civilians ⓘ reinforced judicial protection of civil liberties during wartime ⓘ
keyPrinciple	civilian courts have primacy over military tribunals when open ⓘ constitutional protections apply in wartime as well as in peace ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
legalIssue	application of constitutional rights in wartime ⓘ suspension of habeas corpus ⓘ use of military tribunals for civilians ⓘ
locationOfEvents	Indiana ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy	David Davis ⓘ
militaryBodyInvolved	military commission in Indiana ⓘ
partyDescription	Lambdin P. Milligan was a civilian resident of Indiana ⓘ
petitioner	Lambdin P. Milligan ⓘ
relatedCase	Boumediene v. Bush ⓘ linked to: U.S. Supreme Court case Boumediene v. Bush Ex parte Quirin ⓘ linked to: Ex parte Quirin (U.S. Supreme Court case) Hamdan v. Rumsfeld ⓘ linked to: opinion in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld Hamdi v. Rumsfeld ⓘ
relatedDoctrine	martial law ⓘ separation of powers ⓘ
respondent	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
result	Milligan’s military conviction declared void ⓘ writ of habeas corpus granted ⓘ
term	1865 term ⓘ
vote	9–0 ⓘ
yearDecided	1866 ⓘ