Samuel Chase: In Defense of the Rule of Law and Against the Jeffersonians

As the only US Supreme Court Justice to be impeached, Samuel Chase achieved a sort of instant fame, or instant infamy. During the 1800 election campaign, Chase made himself an easy target for Jeffersonian newspapers when he appeared to sympathize zealously with the prosecution of Jeffersonian editors and writers. Those who accuse Chase of being anti-Jeffersonian are correct, but there were, after all, some reasons for opposing the man from Monticello and his champions. There were two criminal trials over which Chase presided on circuit that did become matters that the House found impeachable offenses. With Jefferson's victory in 1800, Chase feared for the rule of law in general and the independence of the judiciary in particular. Over time, however, Chase's views on the requirements of the rule of law, the allocation of power between judge and jury, judicial review, and the supremacy of the federal government became accepted wisdom and part of what Ted White called the "American Judicial Tradition."