Mark William Delahay (1828 – May 8, 1879) 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 District of Kansas The United States District Court for the District of Kansas (in case citations, D. Kan.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Kansas. The Court operates out of the Robert J. Dole United States Courthouse in Kansas Ci ...

. He resigned after being impeached by the

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due to allegations of

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

Career

Born in 1828, in Talbot County,

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, Delahay entered private practice in

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until 1853. He was the editor of the ''Virginia Observer'' located in

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, Illinois. He resumed private practice in

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Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

from 1853 to 1855, then in Leavenworth, Kansas Territory from 1855 to 1857. He was owner and editor of ''The Territorial Register'' in the Kansas Territory starting in 1857. He was chief clerk of the Kansas Territorial House of Representatives from 1860 to 1861. He was Surveyor General of the Kansas Territory (State of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

from January 29, 1861) and the

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

from 1861 to 1863.

Relationship with Abraham Lincoln

Delahey had a personal friendship with Abraham Lincoln originating with their mutual cause in establishing the Republican Party.Jesse William Weik, ''The Real Lincoln: A Portrait'' (1922). In 1859, Delahay sought the Republican nomination for a United States Senate seat for Kansas.

Federal judicial service

Delahay 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

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

on October 6, 1863, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Archibald Williams. He was nominated to the same position by President Lincoln on December 14, 1863. 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 March 15, 1864, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 12, 1873, due to his resignation.

Impeachment and resignation

Delahay was impeached by the

on February 28, 1873. The investigating committee reported to the House of Representatives that Delahay’s "personal habits unfitted him for the judicial office . . . and that his sobriety would be the exception and not the rule." According to one source, Delahay was " intoxicated off the bench as well as on the bench."Emily Field Van Tassel, Paul Finkelman, ''Impeachable Offenses: A Documentary History from 1787 to the Present'' (1999), p. 120. While Delahay was impeached, the United States House of Representatives never drew up specific articles of impeachment against him and his resignation ended impeachment proceedings before they ever reached the

Death

Delahay died on May 8, 1879, in Kansas City, Kansas.

References

Sources

External links

Biography of Mark W. Delahay
from the Kansas State Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Delahay, Mark W. 1828 births 1879 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 Kansas Kansas Republicans People from Talbot County, Maryland United States federal judges appointed by Abraham Lincoln