Samuel Chase
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland
1741 CE to 1811 CE
Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland.
He is impeached on grounds of letting his partisan leanings affect his court decisions, but is acquitted by the Senate and remains in office.
Born near Princess Anne, Maryland, Chase establishes a legal practice in Annapolis, Maryland.
He serves in the Maryland General Assembly for several years and favors independence during the American Revolution.
He wins election to the Continental Congress before serving on the Baltimore District Criminal Court and the Maryland General Court.
In 1796, President George Washington appoints Chase to the United States Supreme Court.
After the 1800 elections, President Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans seek to weaken Federalist influence on the federal courts.
Chase's actions on the court have been accused of demonstrating bias and Jefferson believes that Chase should be removed from office.
The House of Representatives impeaches Chase on eight articles of impeachment, all centering on Chase's alleged political bias.
The Senate votes to acquit Chase on all counts, and Chase serves on the Supreme Court until his death in 1811.
Some historians have argued that Chase's acquittal set an important precedent regarding the independence of the federal judiciary.
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Publius Valerius was not a late defender of the republic but one of its founders.
His more famous name, Publicola, meant 'friend of the people.'
It was not the first time Hamilton had used this pseudonym: in 1778, he had applied it to three letters attacking fellow Federalist Samuel Chase.
Chase's patriotism was questioned when Hamilton revealed that Chase had taken advantage of knowledge gained in Congress to try to dominate the flour market.
He is the only U.S. Supreme Court justice to have been impeached.
Judge Alexander Pope Humphrey records in the Virginia Law Register an account of the impeachment trial and acquittal of Chase.
The impeachment had raised constitutional questions over the nature of the judiciary and is the end of a series of efforts to define the appropriate extent of judicial independence under the Constitution.
It sets the limits of the impeachment power, fixes the concept that the judiciary is prohibited from engaging in partisan politics, defines the role of the judge in a criminal jury trial, and clarifies judicial independence.
The construction is largely attitudinal as it modifies political norms without codifying new legal doctrines.
The acquittal of Chase—by lopsided margins on several counts—sets an unofficial precedent that many historians will say helps ensure the independence of the judiciary.