Ableman

vs. Booth, an important Supreme Court case from Wisconsin. In 1854, Booth was tried before a commi ioner appointed by the U. S. District Court of Wisconsin for violation of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. He was commanded to appear before the District Court, and, failing to do so, was imprisoned by the U. S. Marshal Ableman. The Supreme Court of Wisconsin i ued a writ of habeas corpus and Zooth was released. Later the U. S. District Court found an indictment against him. He again appealed to the Supreme Court of the State and was released. The case came before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1858. That body reversed the decisions of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. Booth had pleaded the unconstitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Law. The constitutionality of that law was now maintained by the court. It was also held that the marshal, in matters of habeas corpus, must obey the sovereignty of the United States rather than that of the State, the latter having no authority within the limits of the sovereignty a igned by the Constitution to the United States.