William Matthew Merrick (September 1, 1818–February 4, 1889) was a United States Circuit Court judge for the District of Columbia and congressman from the fifth district of the state of Maryland.
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Merrick was born near Faulkner, Maryland and graduated from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., in 1831. He studied law at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, was admitted to the bar in Baltimore in 1839, and commenced practice in Frederick, Maryland, in 1844. He served as deputy attorney general for Frederick County, Maryland, from 1845 to 1850. He was later a Professor of Law at The George Washington University.
Merrick's father, William Duhurst Merrick, was a United States Senator from Maryland.
Merrick moved to Washington, D.C. in 1854 when he was appointed as associate justice of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, a position he served in until the court was abolished in 1863. While in this position, he 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 Gen. Andrew Porter in relation to a writ for habeas corpus concerning a soldier stationed in Washington, D.C. During the affair Pres. Abraham Lincoln also ordered Secretary of State William H. Seward to suspended Merrick's salary. Merrick 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, opponents of the bill claiming that it was a stratagem to turn Merrick and his fellow judges out of office.[1] Sen. Henry Wilson claimed that Merrick's heart "sweltered with treason" and that his house had become a hotbed of pro-secessionist sympathizers.[2][3]
He resumed the practice of law in Maryland, and was a professor of law at Columbian College (now George Washington University) in Washington, D.C. in 1866 and 1867. He served as the Howard County representative to the 1867 Maryland Constitutional Convention. This followed the election of 1866 when the pro-Union politicians lost power and pro-slavery Democrats replaced them. They sought to rewrite the Constitution of 1864, which they believed to be pro-Union. The convention was called at the request of Governor Thomas Swann, a Democrat elected in 1866.
In 1870, he served as a Democrat in the Maryland House of Delegates representing Howard County. In 1871, he was sworn in to serve as a Democrat to Congress, serving the fifth district that included Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, St. Mary's and part of Baltimore County. All five of Maryland's Congressmen were Democrats. He only served one term and, after redistricting, was replaced by William J. Albert, a Republican.
After his service in Congress, Merrick resumed the practice of law. He was appointed by President Grover Cleveland as associate judge of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia in 1885 and served until his death in Washington, D.C. He was originally interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery (Washington, D.C.), but his remains were later transferred to Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) where he is buried in an unmarked grave.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frederick Stone |
Representative of the Fifth Congressional District of Maryland 1871-1873 |
Succeeded by William J. Albert |