Samuel Chase is the only Supreme Court justice ever to be impeached. The House voted to impeach him on March 12, 1804, on eight articles alleging partisan misconduct on the bench, and the Senate acquitted him on every count on March 1, 1805. He returned to the Court and served until his death in 1811. No justice has been impeached since.
Who Samuel Chase Was
Chase signed the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from Maryland and spent years as a judge in Baltimore’s criminal court and the General Court of Maryland before President George Washington nominated him to the Supreme Court on January 26, 1796. The Senate confirmed him the next day.1Justia. Justice Samuel Chase He was a committed Federalist, sharp-tongued, and willing to air his politics from the bench. That last habit is what eventually drew the impeachment.
Why the House Impeached Him
Thomas Jefferson’s 1800 election put the Democratic-Republicans in control of the elected branches, but the federal judiciary remained full of Federalists appointed under Washington and Adams. Chase was the loudest of them. Representative John Randolph of Virginia led the impeachment effort, encouraged privately by Jefferson.2United States Senate. Impeachment Trial of Justice Samuel Chase, 1804-05
The eight articles focused on how Chase ran politically charged trials and one speech he gave from the bench.3Federal Judicial Center. Samuel Chase Impeached Several articles concerned the 1800 treason trial of John Fries, a Pennsylvania auctioneer who had led armed resistance to a federal property tax; Chase was accused of handing down a written definition of treason before the defense could argue the case.2United States Senate. Impeachment Trial of Justice Samuel Chase, 1804-05 Others concerned the Sedition Act trial of journalist James Callender, where Chase barred a key defense witness, refused to dismiss jurors who had already formed opinions, and set evidentiary rules so restrictive that Callender’s lawyers withdrew.4Federal Judicial Center. The Sedition Act Trials The eighth article covered a 1803 grand jury charge Chase delivered in Baltimore attacking the Jefferson administration for repealing the Judiciary Act of 1801. The House called the speech seditious.
The Senate Trial and the Vote
The trial opened in early 1805 with Vice President Aaron Burr presiding, which was itself notable: Burr was under indictment in both New York and New Jersey for killing Alexander Hamilton the previous July. He ran the proceedings strictly, and one observer said he managed them with “the dignity and impartiality of an angel, but with the rigor of a devil.”5United States Senate. Indicted Vice President Bids Senate Farewell
Chase’s defense built its case on a single argument that has outlasted the trial by two centuries: a judge cannot be impeached for errors in judgment, partisan tone, or questionable rulings, only for conduct that amounts to an indictable crime.3Federal Judicial Center. Samuel Chase Impeached His lawyers told the Senate that bad temperament and political bias are not crimes, and that the impeachment power was never meant to let Congress supervise how judges run their courtrooms.
On March 1, 1805, senators voted on each article in turn. Conviction required a two-thirds supermajority. Three articles drew a simple majority for guilty. None reached two-thirds. At least six Jeffersonian Republicans joined all nine Federalists in voting not guilty on every charge.2United States Senate. Impeachment Trial of Justice Samuel Chase, 1804-05 Chase went back to the Court and served another six years, dying in Baltimore on June 19, 1811.6Maryland State Archives. Samuel Chase (1741-1811)
Why No Justice Has Been Impeached Since
The acquittal set the working standard. By refusing to convict, the Senate signaled that unpopular opinions and partisan behavior on the bench do not meet the “high crimes and misdemeanors” bar, even when a majority of senators find them objectionable.2United States Senate. Impeachment Trial of Justice Samuel Chase, 1804-05 That understanding has held. The federal judges removed by impeachment since Chase were convicted of genuinely criminal conduct such as bribery and perjury, and no Supreme Court justice has faced a serious impeachment attempt on grounds like his.3Federal Judicial Center. Samuel Chase Impeached
Article III gives federal judges lifetime tenure during “good behavior” so they can rule without fear of political retaliation.7Congress.gov. Overview of Good Behavior Clause Chase’s trial was the moment that protection was tested in practice. The vote drew the line that has governed judicial impeachment ever since.