This book is the most comprehensive account of the role of habeas corpus in wartime ever written. It draws on a wealth of untapped resources to shed light on the political and legal understanding of habeas corpus that has unfolded over the course of Anglo-American history. The book traces the roots of the habeas privilege enshrined in the United States Constitution to England and then carries the story forward to document the profound influence of English law on early American law. It then takes the story forward to document the understanding of the privilege and the role of suspension over the course of American history, giving special attention to important historical episodes when the Constitution has come under great stress, such as the Civil War, Reconstruction, World War II, and the War on Terror. The original historical materials presented have a great deal to contribute to modern debates over the scope of executive power to arrest, and to the role of courts in wartime.

• Acknowledgements


• Introduction


• Part I: Origins: The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus and Suspension in English Law


• Chapter 1: The Making of the Privilege


• Chapter 2: Suspension: Legislating an Emergency Power


• Chapter 3: Rebellion and Treason


• Part II: Incorporating the Privilege and Suspension into American Law


• Chapter 4: Forging a New Allegiance


• Chapter 5: Enshrining a Constitutional Privilege


• Chapter 6: The Suspension Clause in the Early Republic


• Part III: Suspension


• Chapter 7: Civil War and the "Great Suspender"


• Chapter 8: Liberty in the Shadow Constitution: Suspension and the Confederacy


• Chapter 9: Reconstructing the Union and Suspending in the Name of Civil Rights


• Part IV: The Forgotten Suspension Clause


• Chapter 10: World War II: Suspension and Martial Law in Hawaii and Mass Detention of Japanese Americans on the Mainland


• Chapter 11: Habeas Corpus Today: Confronting the Age of Terrorism


• Conclusion


• Notes


• Index

Amanda L. Tyler is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she teaches and writes about the federal courts, the Supreme Court, constitutional law, legal history, and civil procedure. Professor Tylerâs scholarship has been published in leading law journals, including the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, and the Stanford Law Review. She also serves as a co-editor of Hart and Wechslerâs The Federal Courts and the Federal System. Professor Tyler is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School. Following law school, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Guido Calabresi at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court of the United States. She has run eight Boston marathons.