George Washington English (May 9, 1866 – July 19, 1941) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois (in case citations, E.D. Ill.) is a former federal district court for the state of Illinois. The court was established on March 3, 1905, by 33 Stat. 992. The Northern and South ...

. Charged with abuse of power and other offenses, English was impeached by the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

on April 1, 1926 and resigned his position before proceedings could continue.

Education and career

Born on May 9, 1866, near

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, English received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1891 from the now defunct law school at

Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfor ...

. He was chief deputy sheriff of Johnson County, Illinois from 1891 to 1892. He entered private practice in Vienna from 1893 to 1912. He served as city attorney of Vienna. He was a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1907 to 1912. He continued private practice in

Centralia Centralia may refer to: Places Australia *Central Australia, sometimes called "Centralia" Canada * Centralia, Ontario ** RCAF Station Centralia, a former Royal Canadian Air Force training base ** Centralia (Essery Field) Aerodrome United States ...

, Illinois from 1912 to 1914. He was a special income tax attorney for the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

from 1914 to 1918.

Federal judicial service

English was nominated by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

on April 22, 1918, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Francis Marion Wright Francis Marion Wright (August 5, 1844 – July 15, 1917) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois and previously was a judge of the Court of Claims. Early life Born in Adams Co ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on May 3, 1918, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on November 4, 1926, due to his resignation, after being impeached by the

on April 1, 1926. The five articles of English's impeachment were: * Tyranny and oppression, and abuse of the powers of his office. * Partiality and favoritism, particularly to Charles B. Thomas, his referee in bankruptcy, to whom he was “under great obligation financial and otherwise.” * Improper and unlawful conduct in connection with a “bankruptcy ring” operating in his district. * Manipulation of bankruptcy and other funds, in conjunction with his referee in bankruptcy, for the pecuniary benefit of the referee, himself and his son. * A general course of conduct constituting misbehavior and misdemeanor in office. The House voted to impeach by a vote of 306 to 60, but the charges were dismissed following English's resignation. He had been accused of abusive treatment of attorneys and litigants appearing before him.

Coverage

John T. Rogers of ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

'' won the

1927 Pulitzer Prize The following are the Pulitzer Prizes for 1927. Journalism awards *Public Service: **'' Canton Daily News'', for its brave, patriotic and effective fight for the ending of a vicious state of affairs brought about by collusion between city authoriti ...

for Reporting with his coverage of the inquiry leading to English's impeachment.

Death

English died on July 19, 1941 in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale.

References

Sources

Justice Learning Timeline

''The New York Times'', November 5, 1926
* {{DEFAULTSORT:English, George Washington 1866 births 1941 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century jurists Illinois lawyers Illinois Wesleyan University alumni Impeached United States federal judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois Members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Vienna, Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson