Harold Louderback (January 30, 1881 – December 11, 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 Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del ...

. He was the eleventh federal official to be served with articles of

impeachment 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

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. He was acquitted in the Senate and returned to the bench.

Education and career

Louderback was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and attended the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

, graduating in 1905 with an Artium Baccalaureus degree and then attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, graduating in 1908 with 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 ...

. Louderback then went into private practice from 1908 until 1917. In 1917, Louderback joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and held the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In 1919, he left military service and returned to private practice until 1921 when he was appointed as a Superior Court Judge for the City and County of San Francisco, serving in this position until his appointment to the federal judiciary. As a State Judge, Louderback presided over the trial of

Fatty Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked w ...

Federal judicial service

Louderback was nominated by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

on March 21, 1928, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge John Slater Partridge. 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 April 17, 1928, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 11, 1941, due to his death.

Impeachment and acquittal

On February 24, 1933 Louderback was served with five Articles of Impeachment 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 ...

, including 4 articles alleging corruption in bankruptcy cases (appointing incompetent receivers and allowing them excessive fees), and a general charge of bringing his Court into disrepute. The

tried the impeachment, and on May 24, 1933 acquitted him of all the charges by the following margins:* Mark Grossman, ''Political Corruption in America: An encyclopedia of scandals, power, and greed'' (2003) pp. 215-16. Even though the fifth article gained a majority in the Senate, it was not sufficient to meet the Constitutionally required majority of two-thirds. Louderback remained on the bench until his death in 1941.

References

External links

1933, Jan 5, In San Francisco federal judge Harold Lauderback orders auction of 2,245 gallons of moonshine seized in raids. (SFC, 1/4/09, DB p.50)

Impeachment of Judge Harold Louderback, April 17, 1933 , US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Louderback, Harold 1881 births 1941 deaths 20th-century American judges California state court judges Harvard Law School alumni Impeached United States federal judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Lawyers from San Francisco Military personnel from California United States Army officers United States district court judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge University of Nevada, Reno alumni

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Impeachment and acquittal

References

Further reading

External links