Case library · The Underground
Rescuing a Fugitive From the Marshal
Ableman v. Booth (1859)
Charge: Aiding and abetting the escape of a fugitive slave from a deputy marshal, under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850Court: U.S. Supreme Court (on error to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin; trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wisconsin)State: WisconsinDocket: The Underground
The facts
A federal law made it a crime to help an escaped enslaved person get away from the officer holding him. The accused was charged with aiding and abetting exactly that: an escape from a deputy marshal's custody. A federal grand jury indicted him, a federal jury tried him, and he was sentenced to a month in jail and a fine. He argued the federal law was void and that a state court could order him released from federal custody. A state court did order that.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Ableman v. Booth, 62 U.S. (21 How.) 506 (1859)
Read more at supreme.justia.com. The source reveals the outcome.