John Raymond Hazel (December 18, 1860 – October 31, 1951) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Western District of New York The United States District Court for the Western District of New York (in case citations, W.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the western parts of Upstate New York. Appeals are taken to the Second Circuit (exce ...

. He is notable for administering the oath of office to President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

following the assassination and subsequent death of President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

Education and career

Born on December 18, 1860, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, Hazel read law in 1882. He entered private practice in Buffalo from 1882 to 1894. He was Commissioner of Corporation Taxes for the State of New York starting in 1894. He was a delegate to the

1900 Republican National Convention The 1900 Republican National Convention was held June 19 to June 21 in the Exposition Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Exposition Auditorium was located south of the University of Pennsylvania, and the later Convention Hall was constr ...

Federal judicial service

Hazel was nominated by President

on May 18, 1900, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 31 Stat. 175. 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 June 5, 1900, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 5, 1931, due to his retirement.

Nomination controversy

Hazel's nomination was opposed by the Buffalo Bar Association, which considered him unfit for judgeship. A group of five lawyers went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on the association's behalf for the purpose of meeting with the Association of the Bar of the City of New York to express their opposition. Contemporaneous accounts indicate that it was a dispute between GOP boss Thomas C. Platt and the anti-Platt ring then prevalent in New York.

Roosevelt oath of office

On September 6, 1901, President McKinley was attending the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

in Buffalo when he was shot by

Leon Czolgosz Leon Frank Czolgosz ( , ; May 5, 1873 – October 29, 1901) was an American laborer and anarchist who assassinated President William McKinley on September 6, 1901, in Buffalo, New York. The president died on September 14 after his wound became ...

. Vice President Roosevelt was vacationing in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, and traveled to Buffalo to visit McKinley in the hospital. It appeared that McKinley would recover, so Roosevelt went on a planned family camping and hiking trip to

Mount Marcy Mount Marcy (Mohawk: ''Tewawe’éstha'') is the highest point in New York, with an elevation of . It is located in the Town of Keene in Essex County. The mountain is in the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks region of the High Peaks Wildern ...

in the

Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular d ...

. In the mountains, a runner notified him McKinley was on his death bed. Roosevelt pondered with his wife,

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...

, how best to respond, not wanting to show up in Buffalo and wait on McKinley's death. Roosevelt was rushed by a series of stagecoaches to North Creek train station. At the station, Roosevelt was handed a telegram that said President McKinley died at 2:30 AM, September 14, 1901.The new President continued by train from North Creek to Buffalo. He arrived in Buffalo later that day, accepting an invitation to stay at the home of

Ansley Wilcox Ansley Wilcox (January 27, 1856 – January 26, 1930) was an American scholar, Oxford graduate, prominent lawyer, civil service reform commissioner, New York political insider and friend of Theodore Roosevelt. After the assassination of Will ...

(now the

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site preserves the Ansley Wilcox House, at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York. Here, after the assassination of William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as President of the ...

). It was there, on the afternoon of September 14, 1901, that Judge Hazel administered the oath to Roosevelt.

Notable cases

In 1909, Judge Hazel issued an order cancelling the naturalization of Jacob A. Kersner, at the request of the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

's Office, and thus stripping the citizenship of his ex-wife, the Anarchist orator Emma Goldman, who had gained

United States citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Cons ...

in 1887 by her marriage to Kersner. Ten years later, in 1919, the Wilson Administration used Hazel's voiding of her citizenship as the basis for ruling that Goldman could be deported to Russia as an "alien anarchist," along with 248 other "undesirables," on the ''

USAT Buford USAT ''Buford'' was a combination cargo/passenger ship, originally launched in 1890 as the SS ''Mississippi''. She was purchased by the US Army in 1898 for transport duty in the Spanish–American War. In 1919, she was briefly transferred to the ...

''. Judge Hazel heard the 1910 to 1913 lawsuit by the Wright Brothers who alleged patent infringement against manufacturer

Herring-Curtiss Company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decade ...

and inventor

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...

. Hazel ruled in February 1913 for the Wrights, and the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld his decision in 1914. The decision was controversial for so favorably interpreting the uniqueness and priority of the technical achievements of the Wrights, and it has been argued that this broad interpretation of their intellectual property slowed aviation developments in the U.S.

Death

Hazel died on October 13, 1951.

References

Sources

* * Morris, Edmund. ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt''. Modern Library, 2001 (paperback edition). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Hazel, John R. 1860 births 1951 deaths Politicians from Buffalo, New York Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York United States federal judges appointed by William McKinley Assassination of William McKinley Lawyers from Buffalo, New York United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law