James Hawkins Peck (January 12, 1790 – April 29, 1836) 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 District of Missouri The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

Education and career

Born on January 12, 1790, in Mossy Creek (now Jefferson City),

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

( Southwest Territory from May 26, 1790, State of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

from June 1, 1796), Peck served in 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 ...

starting in 1812, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. He entered private practice in Tennessee until 1818. He continued private practice in St. Louis, Missouri Territory (State of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

from August 10, 1821) from 1818 to 1822.

Federal judicial service

Peck was nominated by President James Monroe on March 26, 1822, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 3 Stat. 653. 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 5, 1822, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on April 29, 1836, due to his death in St. Charles, Missouri.

Allegations of abuse of power, impeachment and acquittal

Peck was involved in several land claim cases arising out of the Louisiana territory purchase; in one such case in 1825 he ruled against the client of the lawyer

Luke Lawless The lynching of Francis McIntosh was the killing of a free man of color, a boatman, by a white mob after he was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 28, 1836. He had fatally stabbed one policeman and injured a second. Lynching Francis L. McI ...

and published his opinion in a St. Louis newspaper the following year. In response, Lawless posted an anonymous letter rebutting Peck's ruling in another newspaper. The authorship of the letter soon became known and Peck found Lawless in contempt of Court for: ''Intent to impair the public confidence in the upright intentions of said court, and to bring odium upon the court, and especially with intent to impress the public mind, and particularly many litigants in this court, that they are not to expect justice in the cases now pending therein.'' Peck had Lawless placed in jail for 24 hours and removed his right to practice in a federal court for 18 months. Lawless began a crusade against Peck, which included submitting his own memorial for impeachment to the House. This memorial resulted in

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 ...

charges before the U.S. House of Representatives. Peck was

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

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 24, 1830, on a charge of abuse of the contempt power. The

began his impeachment trial on April 26, 1830, and acquitted him on January 31, 1831, with 21 voting guilty and 22 voting not guilty.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peck, James Hawkins 1790 births 1836 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians Impeached United States federal judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Missouri Lawyers from St. Louis People from Jefferson County, Tennessee People from Tennessee in the War of 1812 United States Army personnel United States federal judges appointed by James Monroe