Partly-printed DS as president, one page, 19 x 16, December 14, 1855. President Pierce appoints William M. Merrick "to be Assistant Judge of the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Columbia." Signed prominently at the conclusion by Franklin Pierce, and countersigned by Secretary of State William L. Marcy. Original white paper seal remains affixed to the lower left. In very good to fine condition, with scattered creasing, a chip to the top edge, and old wax seal remnants to the upper left.
While a circuit judge, Merrick (1818-1889) 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 General Andrew Porter in relation to a writ for habeas corpus concerning a soldier stationed in Washington, D.C. During the affair, President Abraham Lincoln also ordered Secretary of State William H. Seward to suspend the salary of Merrick, who 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, with opponents of the bill claiming that it was a stratagem to turn Merrick and his fellow judges out of office. Senator Henry Wilson claimed that Merrick's heart 'sweltered with treason' and that his house had become a hotbed of pro-secessionist sympathizers.
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