Samuel Chase | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by John Wesley Jarvis in the National Portrait Gallery collection, 1811 | |
| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
| In office February 4, 1796 – June 19, 1811 | |
| Nominated by | George Washington |
| Preceded by | John Blair |
| Succeeded by | Gabriel Duvall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 17, 1741 Somerset County, Maryland, British America |
| Died | June 19, 1811 (aged 70) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouses | Anne Baldwin
(m. 1762; died 1776)Hannah Kilty (m. 1784) |
| Children | 9 |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname(s) | Old Bacon Face Demosthenes of Maryland[1] |
Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Father of the United States, signer of the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.[2] In 1804, Chase was impeached by the House of Representatives on grounds of letting his partisan leanings affect his court decisions, but was acquitted the following year by the Senate and remained in office. He is the only United States Supreme Court Justice to have ever been impeached.
Born near Princess Anne, Maryland, Chase established a legal practice in Annapolis, Maryland. He served in the Maryland General Assembly for several years and favored independence during the American Revolution. He won election to the Continental Congress before serving on the Baltimore District Criminal Court and the Maryland General Court. In 1796, President George Washington appointed Chase to the United States Supreme Court.
After the 1800 elections, President Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans sought to weaken Federalist influence on the federal courts. Chase's actions on the court had been accused of demonstrating bias, and Jefferson believed that Chase should be removed from office, a process that required a vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House passed eight articles of impeachment, all centering on Chase's alleged political bias. The Senate voted to acquit Chase on all counts, and Chase served on the Supreme Court until his death in 1811.[3] Some historians have argued that Chase's acquittal set an important precedent regarding the independence of the federal judiciary.
- ^ Scharf, John Thomas (1879). History of Maryland: 1765–1812. Hatboro, Pa., Tradition Press. p. 179.
- ^ Bernstein, Richard B. (2011) [2009]. "Appendix: The Founding Fathers: A Partial List". The Founding Fathers Reconsidered. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199832576.
- ^ "Justices 1789 to Present". Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved February 14, 2022.