McVeigh v. United States

During the Civil War, the federal government treated Virginia and its residents as being in rebellion, and under a statute making rebel-owned property forfeitable, the government petitioned a federal district court to declare McVeigh (defendant), a Virginia property owner, a rebel and to condemn his property. McVeigh hired a loyal attorney to appear and oppose the petition, but the government moved to strike the attorney's filings on the theory that a rebel citizen had no right to defend himself in federal court, and the district court struck the motions, declared McVeigh a rebel, and condemned his property; the circuit court affirmed, and McVeigh's attorney appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.