REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED ON THE 20TH OF OCTOBER LAST, TO PREPARE AND REPORT ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, AGAINST JOHN PICKERING, DISTRICT JUDGE OF THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, WHO WAS IMPEACHED BY THIS HOUSE, DURING THE LAST SESSION, OF HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. 27TH DECEMBER, 1803. READ, AND REFERRED TO A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE, ON THURSDAY NEXT.
[Washington: 1803]. 9, [1 blank] pp. Disbound, else Very Good.
Pickering enjoyed the dubious distinction of being the first federal judge removed from office by conviction in the Senate after impeachment in the House. A Federalist appointed to the bench in 1795, he was frequently absent from his court and displayed erratic behavior for many years. Often drunk on the bench and occasionally raving like a madman, he was nevertheless vigorously defended by Federalists, who feared a Jeffersonian assault on the Federal judiciary. The Senate removed him from office in early 1804 after a trial on these Articles charging him with arbitrary rulings, "total intoxication, produced by the free and intemperate use of inebriating liquors," and "prophane and indecent" language on the bench.
AI 5459 [2]. Not in Cohen. Item #23419
Price: $250.00