Charles Pinckney James (May 11, 1818 – August 9, 1899) was an

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.

Education and career

Born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, James graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in 1838. He was in private practice in Cincinnati from 1840 to 1850, and was a Professor of law at Cincinnati College (now the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

) from 1850 to 1856. He was Judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati from 1856 to 1864. He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1864 to 1879, also working as a Professor of law at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

from 1870 to 1874.

Contribution to the Revised Statutes

James substantially contributed to the ''

Revised Statutes of the United States The Revised Statutes of the United States (in citations, Rev. Stat.) was the first official codification of the Acts of Congress. It was enacted into law in 1874. The purpose of the ''Revised Statutes'' was to make it easier to research federal l ...

'' during the 1870s. He was appointed by President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...

in 1866 and re-appointed by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...

in 1870 as one of three commissioners tasked to revise and consolidate existing federal statutes. The first edition of the ''Revised Statutes'' was adopted by Congress in 1874. In 1877, commissioner George S. Boutwell prepared the second edition of the ''Revised Statutes'' with the assistance of James.Introduction to the ''Revised Statutes of the United States'', 1878. James appears to have been the only person to have worked on both the first and second editions of the ''Revised Statutes''.

Federal judicial service

James received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...

from President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...

on July 24, 1879, to an Associate Justice seat on the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (now the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District ...

) vacated by Associate Justice David Campbell Humphreys. He was nominated to the same position by President Hayes on December 1, 1879. 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 po ...

on December 10, 1879, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 1, 1892, due to his retirement.

Death

James died on August 9, 1899, in Leesburg,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

Publications

* James, Charles Pinckney. ''Address delivered at Camp McRae: before the Citizens' Guards of Cincinnati, on their fourth anniversary, July 4th, 1842''. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1842. * James, Charles Pinckney, and C. A. L. Richards. ''Oration and Poem, delivered before the Cincinnati Literary Club, July 4th, 1853''. Cincinnati: Truman & Spofford, 1853. (''oration by James; poem by Richards'') * James, Charles Pinckney. ''Address to the class of 1872 Law Department of the University of Georgetown, June 4, 1872''. Washington .C. Cunningham & McIntosh, 1872. * James, Charles Pinckney. ''Oration delivered before the Philodemic Society of Georgetown College, June 24, 1874''. Washington .C. Joseph L. Pearson, 1874. * James, Charles Pinckney. ''The power of Congress to punish contempts and breaches of privilege''. Washington .C. W. H. & O. H. Morrison, 1879.

References

Sources

External links

First edition of the ''Revised Statutes of the United States'' (1873)

Second edition of the ''Revised Statutes of the United States'' (1878)
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Charles Pinckney 1818 births 1899 deaths Harvard College alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia United States federal judges appointed by Rutherford B. Hayes 19th-century American judges Judges of the Superior Court of Cincinnati University of Cincinnati College of Law faculty Politicians from Cincinnati Superior court judges in the United States Deans of Georgetown University Law Center