Associate Justice of The D.C. Circuit Court
Merrick moved to Washington, D.C. in 1854, and on December 14, 1855, Merrick was nominated by President Franklin Pierce to a seat on the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia vacated by James Dunlop. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 14, 1855, and received his commission the same day. Merrick's service was terminated on March 3, 1863, due to the abolition of the court. While in this position, he is best known for his role in the case of United States ex rel. Murphy v. Porter during the American Civil War, when he was placed under house arrest by Gen. Andrew Porter in relation to a writ for habeas corpus concerning a soldier stationed in Washington, D.C. During the affair Pres. Abraham Lincoln also ordered Secretary of State William H. Seward to suspend Merrick's salary. Merrick was released from house arrest in December. His name came up in discussions by the United States Senate over whether to abolish the D.C. Circuit Court, opponents of the bill claiming that it was a stratagem to turn Merrick and his fellow judges out of office. Sen. Henry Wilson claimed that Merrick's heart "sweltered with treason" and that his house had become a hotbed of pro-secessionist sympathizers.
Read more about this topic: William Matthew Merrick
Famous quotes containing the words associate, justice, circuit and/or court:
“If you associate enough with older people who do enjoy their lives, who are not stored away in any golden ghettos, you will gain a sense of continuity and of the possibility for a full life.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
“But since he had
The genius to be loved, why let him have
The justice to be honored in his grave.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)
“each new victim treads unfalteringly
The never altered circuit of his fate,
Bringing twelve peers as witness
Both to his starry rise and starry fall.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)
“In government offices which are sensitive to the vehemence and passion of mass sentiment public men have no sure tenure. They are in effect perpetual office seekers, always on trial for their political lives, always required to court their restless constituents.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)