It is now the 1860’s. Northern and Southern states are fighting in the Civil War. President Lincoln has suspended the right to a fair trial. Lincoln says the U.S. Constitution allows him to do this. Article One of the U.S. Constitution says the right to a quick trial can be suspended “when in cases of Rebellion or Invasion.”

Lamdin Milligan is arrested for helping the South during the Civil War. In the 1866 Supreme Court case, Ex Parte Milligan, the judges rule that people have the right to a trial by jury during war. The judges state that the Constitution is the law during peace and war.