Impeachment of Samuel Chase

Impeachment of Samuel Chase
Impeachment of Samuel Chase
Accused	Samuel Chase, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Date	March 12, 1804 to March 1, 1805
Outcome	Acquitted by the U.S. Senate, remained in the office of the United States Supreme Court
Charges	Eight high crimes and misdemeanors
Key congressional votes
Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives
Accusation	High crimes and misdemeanors
Votes in favor	73
Votes against	32
Result	Approved resolution of impeachment
Voting in the U.S. Senate
Result	Acquitted on each article of impeachment

Samuel Chase, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, was impeached by the United States House of Representatives on March 12, 1804 on eight articles of impeachment alleging misconduct. His impeachment trial before the United States Senate delivered an acquittal on March 1, 1805, with none of the eight articles receiving the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction.

The impeachment was a partisan affair. It was an effort by the Thomas Jefferson-led Democratic–Republican Party to weaken a judiciary that had been largely shaped by the opposing Federalist Party. The outcomes helped to solidify norms of an independent judiciary and impeachments requiring more than just a disagreement between an official and the Congress.

Chase is the only United States Supreme Court justice to have ever been impeached.