Mar 11

Mar 11 The Impeachment of Judge John Pickering

John Pickering was the first Federal Justice to be convicted by the Senate after an impeachment.

Note: He is not related to Founder Timothy Pickering, whose brother is also named John Pickering.

John Pickering

When the Revolutionary War broke out John Pickering was running a successful law practice, though he often worked for little or no pay to help those in his community.

Though he did not take an active part in the hostilities, John’s legal know-how was used by the Patriots when he was sent to the convention which wrote New Hampshire’s first constitution.

From there he served for several years in the State House of Representatives.

Chief Justice of New Hampshire

Pickering continued to be an important member of the New Hampshire Government when he was elected to the State Senate.

John also supported the Constitution as a Delegate to the ratification convention.

By 1790, Pickering was chosen as Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, a position he held for five years.

Impeachment

In 1795, Pickering was chosen by President Washington as Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

While he successfully carried off this task for several years, John’s mental aptitude slowly began to deteriorate.

By 1803, President Jefferson brought charges against him and Pickering was impeached by the House of Representatives.

While he was not the first Federal Judge to be impeached, he holds the sad distinction of being the first convicted by the Senate and removed from office.

Here is an article on the FIRST impeachment trial:

Congress Impeaches Samuel Chase

Pickering doesn’t have a biography I know of, but check out ‘The Role of Circuit Courts’ for an interesting view of how law was determined during the early years of the United States.

Pick up a copy through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).