Calvin Pease (September 9, 1776–September 17, 1839) was a lawyer and legislator in the

U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

who was in the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

, in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

, and an

Ohio Supreme Court The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

Judge 1816-1830.

Early life

Calvin Pease was born in

Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield, Connecticut, Enfiel ...

. He studied law in the office of his brother-in-law

Gideon Granger Gideon Granger (July 19, 1767 – December 31, 1822) was an early American politician and lawyer. He was the father of fellow Postmaster General and U.S. Representative Francis Granger. Early life Granger was born in Suffield, Connecticut on ...

, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1798, practicing in

New Hartford, Connecticut New Hartford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,658 at the 2020 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the New Hartford Center census-designated place (CDP). The town is mainl ...

. Randall 1912 : 126 He came to the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

in 1800. He was appointed first clerk of the court of quarter sessions in August in

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

, and admitted to the bar in October. After Statehood for Ohio, he was elected president-judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the Third Circuit. Upton 1910 : 84

Impeachment

While Pease was Judge of the Third Circuit, the Legislature passed a law that "justices of the peace should have jurisdiction in civil cases to the amount of $50, without the right of trial by jury." Pease held that this was in conflict with the United States Constitution, which stated "in suits of common law when the value shall exceed $20, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved," and the State Constitution, which stated "the right of trial by jury shall be inviolate." This decision established judicial review of legislative decisions. Supreme Court Judges George Tod and Samuel Huntington upheld Pease's decisionPease and Tod were

impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

by the legislature. Huntington was not impeached because he had already been elected

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and would resign his seat by the wend of the year. Pease and Tod were each acquitted in their

impeachment trial An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...

s by a single vote. One author says "From that day, the right of the Supreme Court to pass on the constitutionality of laws has seldom even been questioned." Another says "The Ohio legislature, however, would continue to try to establish itself as the dominant force in state government at the expense of the judicial branch."

State office

In 1812-1813, Pease was elected to the Ohio Senate representing

Trumbull County Trumbull County is a County (United States), county in the far northeast portion of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 201,977. Its county seat is Warren, Ohio, Warren, which developed indust ...

in the 11th General Assembly. In 1816, the Legislature elected him to the Ohio Supreme Court, a position he held until 1830. In 1831 and 1832, he represented Trumbull County in the Ohio House of Representatives for the 30th General Assembly. Ohio 1917 : 266 On June 2, 1804, Pease married Laura Grant Risley in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

They had seven children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Calvin Pease died September 17, 1839 in Warren. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Warren, and his wife was buried next to him after she died April 6, 1872.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pease, Calvin Ohio lawyers Ohio state senators Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court People from Warren, Ohio 1776 births 1839 deaths 19th-century American lawyers