Federal Judicial Center Operational Status:

Due to a lapse in appropriations, the Federal Judicial Center (Center) has ceased all non-excepted activities until funding is restored.

The Center will post any changes in operational status on this web page. Please check back for updates.

Chase, Samuel

Born April 17, 1741, in Somerset County, MD
Died June 19, 1811, in Baltimore, MD

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Nominated by George Washington on January 26, 1796, to a seat vacated by John Blair. Confirmed by the Senate on January 27, 1796, and received commission on January 27, 1796. Service terminated on June 19, 1811, due to death.

Supreme Court Oath:
February 4, 1796

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

Eastern Circuit, Spring 1796, Spring 1799
Southern Circuit, Spring 1797
Middle Circuit, Spring 1798-Fall 1798, Spring 1800
Fourth Circuit, April 29, 1802-June 19, 1811

Education:
Read law, 1763

Professional Career:

Member, Lower House, Maryland Proprietary Assembly, 1764-1774
Convention member, Maryland Provisional Government, 1774-1776
State delegate, Maryland, 1777-1788
Delegate, Continental Congress, 1774-1778, 1784, 1785
Judge, Baltimore County [Maryland] Criminal Court, 1788-1796
Chief judge, Maryland General Court, 1791-1796

Miscellaneous Information:

Impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives, March 12, 1804, and found not guilty by the U.S. Senate, March 1, 1805

Bibliography

Bair, Robert R. and Robin D. Coblentz. “The Trials of Mr. Justice Samuel Chase.” Maryland Law Review, vol. 27, no. 4 (Fall 1967): 365-86.

Berger, Raoul. “Samuel Chase v. Thomas Jefferson: A Response to Stephen Presser.” Brigham Young University Law Review, vol. 1990 (1990): 873-908.

________. “The Transfiguration of Samuel Chase: A Rebuttal.” Brigham Young University Law Review, vol. 1992, no. 3 (1992): 559-96.

Blackmar, Charles B. “The Impeachment Trial of Samuel Chase.” Journal of American Judicature Society, vol. 48, no. 9 (Feb. 1965): 183-7.

Carrington, R.W. “Impeachment Trial of Samuel Chase.” Virginia Law Review, vol. 9, no. 7 (May 1923): 485-500.

Gerber, Scott Douglas. Seriatim: The Supreme Court before John Marshall. New York: NYU Press, 1998.

Harris, Charles D. “The Impeachment Trial of Samuel Chase.” American Bar Association Journal, vol. 57, no. 1 (Jan. 1971): 53-7.

Humphrey, Alexander Pope. “The Impeachment of Samuel Chase.” American Lawyer, vol. 8, no. 2 (Feb. 1900): 57-61.

Perlin, Adam A. “The Impeachment of Samuel Chase: Redefining Judicial Independence.” Rutgers Law Review, vol. 62, no. 3 (Spring 2010): 725-91.

Presser, Stephen B. “Samuel Chase: In Defense of the Rule of Law and Against the Jeffersonians, Vanderbilt Law Review, vol. 62, no. 2 (Mar. 2009): 349-71.

________. “A Tale of Two Judges: Richard Peters, Samuel Chase, and the Broken Promise of Federalist Jurisprudence.” Northwestern University Law Review, vol. 73, no. 1 (1978-1979): 26-111.

________ and Becky Bair Hurley. “Saving God’s Republic: The Jurisprudence of Samuel Chase.” University of Illinois Law Review, vol. 1984 (1984): 771-822.

Schneider, Thomas. “The Impeachment Trial of Samuel Chase.” Judges’ Journal, vol. 32, no. 2 (Spring 1993): 31-4.

“The Impeachment of Samuel Chase.” American Law Review, vol. 33, no. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 1899): 827-52.

Manuscript Collections

Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Samuel Chase collection, 1776-1805.
4 items; collection is a part of the Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection.

Maryland Historical Society
Baltimore, Md.
Samuel Chase charge book, ca. 1802-1806.
1 vol.; instructions to grand juries of the U.S. Circuit Courts for the Third Circuit Chase delivered as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Samuel Chase correspondence, 1741-1811.
1 portfolio; correspondence from various Maryland governors to Samuel Chase regarding Bank of England stock belonging to Maryland, a statement concerning Chase's property in England, and various financial papers.

Chase home book, 1714-1855.
142 items; papers and letters of the Chase family of Maryland.

Samuel Chase papers, 1766-1804.
1 microfilm reel; 31 letters from Chase to various recipients.

Samuel Chase papers, 1777-1807.
31 items; letters to and from Samuel Chase on various legal and financial matters.

New York Public Library
New York, N.Y.
Samuel Chase papers, 1781-1810.
1 folder; small quantity of letters, two bills, and a political cartoon.

You are here

Chase, Samuel