# Samuel Chase *Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1796–1811); the only justice impeached by the House of Representatives* Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Maryland lawyer and legislator. He signed both the Continental Association and the United States Declaration of Independence as a Maryland delegate.[^1] He later sat as an associate justice of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] from 1796 until he died in 1811.[^1] In 1804 the House of Representatives impeached Chase, charging that partisanship had shaped his rulings. In the following year the Senate acquitted him on every article, and he kept his seat. No other justice of the Supreme Court has been impeached.[^1] The impeachment came out of the dispute that followed the 1800 elections. President Thomas Jefferson and his Democratic-Republican Party were working to reduce the Federalists' hold on the federal bench. Chase's conduct as a judge had drawn accusations of bias, and Jefferson held that he should be removed. All eight articles that the House adopted concerned Chase's alleged political partiality.[^1] Some historians regard the Senate's verdict as a precedent for the independence of federal judges.[^1] ## Early life Chase was born near Princess Anne, Maryland. His parents were Matilda Walker and the Reverend Thomas Chase, a clergyman who had immigrated to Somerset County to serve as priest of a new church.[^2] Chase received his schooling at home. At eighteen he moved to Annapolis and read law with the attorney John Hall. He was admitted to the bar in 1761 and opened a practice in Annapolis.[^2] Fellow members of the bar called him "Old Bacon Face", a nickname attributed to his ruddy complexion or his tendency to flush when angry or excited.[^2] In May 1762 he married Anne Baldwin. They had three sons and four daughters, four of whom reached adulthood. Anne Chase died in 1776.[^2] In 1784 Chase went to England on business concerning Maryland's Bank of England stock. While there he met Hannah Kilty, daughter of the Berkshire physician Samuel Giles. They married that year and had two daughters, Hannah and Elisa.[^2] ## Political career Voters first sent Chase to the Maryland General Assembly in 1764, and he remained a member for two decades.[^3] In 1766, loyalist figures including Walter Dulany, George Steuart and John Brice published an article in the *Maryland Gazette Extraordinary* of June 19, 1766. The article called Chase "a busy, reckless incendiary, a ringleader of mobs".[^3] Chase answered with an open letter dated July 18, 1766. In it he charged them with "pride and arrogance" and said they owed their positions to "proprietary influence, court favour", among other sources.[^3] Chase began building the mansion later called the Chase–Lloyd House in 1769 and sold it, still unfinished, in 1771. The house is now a National Historic Landmark.[^3] With his friend William Paca he co-founded the Sons of Liberty chapter in Anne Arundel County, and he led opposition to the 1765 Stamp Act.[^3] Chase was a member of the Annapolis Convention from 1774 to 1776 and of Maryland's Council of Safety in 1775. As a Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress, he won re-election in 1776 and signed the Declaration of Independence. He left Congress in 1778.[^3] At the 1788 Maryland Ratifying Convention, called to consider the proposed 1787 Constitution, Chase was a leading Anti-Federalist. Maryland nonetheless ratified, becoming the seventh state to do so.[^3] ## Judicial career Chase settled in Baltimore in 1786 and lived there for the rest of his life.[^4] From 1788 to 1796 he presided as chief justice of Baltimore's District Criminal Court. From 1791 to 1796 he also held the office of Chief Justice of the Maryland General Court.[^4] President George Washington named Chase to the Supreme Court as an associate justice on January 26, 1796. The Senate approved the nomination on January 27.[^4] Chase took the oath on February 4, 1796, and remained on the Court until his death on June 19, 1811.[^4] ### Impeachment Soon after Jefferson took office, his allies in Congress repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801. The repeal abolished the lower courts that act had created and removed their Federalist judges, although those judges held lifetime appointments.[^5] Several episodes involving Chase came before Congress. In April 1800, sitting as a district judge, Chase directed strong attacks at Thomas Cooper, who had been indicted under the Alien and Sedition Acts.[^5] Also in 1800, a grand jury in New Castle, Delaware declined to indict a local printer. Chase refused to discharge the jurors and told them there was a particular printer he wanted indicted for sedition.[^5] In May 1803 he condemned the repeal of the 1801 act in a charge to a Baltimore grand jury, saying it would "take away all security for property and personal liberty".[^5] Jefferson treated these episodes as misconduct and as grounds for removal. The House voted to impeach Chase in 1804, and the Senate acquitted him on all counts in 1805.[^5] ## Death and legacy A heart attack killed Chase in Baltimore in 1811. He was buried in the ground now known as Old Saint Paul's Cemetery.[^6] During the Second World War, a Liberty Ship, the SS *Samuel Chase*, carried his name.[^6] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samuel Chase* (revision 1379665514, retrieved 2026-10-26), lead section — dates of life, signatures, Supreme Court service, 1804 impeachment, eight articles, 1805 acquittal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chase [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samuel Chase* (revision 1379665514, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Early life" — birth, parents, education, bar admission (1761), marriages and children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chase [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samuel Chase* (revision 1379665514, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Political career" — General Assembly (1764), 1766 exchange, Chase–Lloyd House, Sons of Liberty, Congress (to 1778), 1788 ratifying convention. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chase [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samuel Chase* (revision 1379665514, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Judicial career" — Maryland judgeships, nomination (January 26, 1796), confirmation, swearing-in (February 4, 1796), death in office. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chase [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samuel Chase* (revision 1379665514, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Impeachment" — repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801, Cooper trial (1800), New Castle grand jury (1800), Baltimore charge (May 1803). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chase [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Samuel Chase* (revision 1379665514, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Death and legacy" — death, burial, Liberty Ship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chase