§ Quantized History #22

§ ≡ A quantum of Quantized History { #21 « #22 » #23 }

March 1, 1805 » Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate

The acquittal of Chase — by lopsided margins on several of the counts — is believed to have helped ensure that an independent federal judiciary would survive partisan challenge. As Chief Justice William Rehnquist noted in his book, "Grand Inquests", some people expressed opinions at the time of Chase's trial that the Senate had absolute latitude in convicting a jurist it found unfit, but the acquittal set an unofficial precedent that judges would not be impeached based on their performance on the bench. All judges impeached since Chase had been accused of outright criminality.

Impeachments of U.S. Federal Officials:

1. William Blount, Senator from Tennessee; charges dismissed for want of jurisdiction, Jan. 14, 1799.
2. John Pickering, Judge of the U.S. District Court for New Hampshire; removed from office March 12, 1804.
3. Samuel Chase, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; acquitted March 1, 1805.
4. James H. Peck, Judge of the U.S. District Court for Missouri; acquitted Jan. 31, 1831.
5. West H. Humphreys, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the middle, eastern, and western districts of Tennessee; removed from office June 26, 1862.
6. Andrew Johnson, President of the United States; acquitted May 26, 1868.
7. William W. Belknap, Secretary of War; acquitted Aug. 1, 1876.
8. Charles Swayne, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the northern district of Florida; acquitted Feb. 27, 1905.
9. Robert W. Archbald, associate judge, U.S. Commerce Court; removed Jan. 13, 1913.
10. George W. English, Judge of the U.S. District Court for eastern district of Illinois; resigned Nov. 4, 1926; proceedings dismissed.
11. Harold Louderback, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the northern district of California; acquitted May 24, 1933.
12. Halsted L. Ritter, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the southern district of Florida; removed from office April 17, 1936.
13. Harry E. Claiborne, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the district of Nevada; removed from office Oct. 9, 1986.
14. Alcee L. Hastings, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the southern district of Florida; removed from office Oct. 20, 1988.
15. Walter L. Nixon, Judge of the U.S. District Court for Mississippi; removed from office Nov. 3, 1989.
16. William J. Clinton, President of the United States; acquitted Feb. 12, 1999.

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