David Davis

Details

Birth

March 9, 1815 · Cecil County, Maryland

Death

June 26, 1886

Law school

yale university

Prior experience

U.s. supreme court justice (recess)

Biography

David Davis (March 9, 1815 – June 26, 1886) was an American politician and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1862 to 1877. Born in Cecil County, Maryland, Davis graduated from Kenyon College in Ohio in 1832 and studied law at Yale Law School before being admitted to the Illinois bar in 1835. He established a successful legal practice in Bloomington, Illinois, where he became involved in local politics and developed a close friendship with Abraham Lincoln. Davis served as a judge on Illinois's Eighth Judicial Circuit from 1848 to 1862, presiding over cases throughout central Illinois alongside Lincoln, who frequently appeared before his court as an attorney. President Lincoln nominated Davis to the Supreme Court in October 1862, and he was confirmed by the Senate without opposition. During his tenure, Davis authored the Court's opinion in Ex parte Milligan (1866), one of his most significant and enduring contributions to American jurisprudence. The decision held that civilians could not be tried by military tribunals when civil courts remained open and functioning, establishing important precedent for civil liberties during wartime. Davis generally favored a moderate approach to constitutional interpretation and often sought to limit federal power while protecting individual rights. He resigned from the Court in 1877 after being elected to the United States Senate by the Illinois legislature as an independent candidate. Davis's legacy rests primarily on the Milligan decision, which remains a cornerstone of American civil liberties law and continues to be cited in cases involving the balance between national security and constitutional rights during times of crisis.

Notable opinions

• Ex parte Milligan
• Ex parte McCardle