Roy Hawley Chamberlain (April 16, 1862 – date of death unknown) was a Member of the

Board of General Appraisers The United States Court of International Trade (case citations: Int'l Trade or Intl. Trade) is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. Seated in New York City, it exercises ...

Education and career

Chamberlain was born in 1862 in Clarinda,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. He served as Postmaster of Clarinda from 1895 to 1899. He served as clerk and acting collector of customs for the United States Military and Naval Forces in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

from 1899 to 1901. He served as Collector of Internal Revenue in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

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from 1901 to 1908. He was the son-in-law of Iowa Congressman William Peters Hepburn.

Federal judicial service

Chamberlain 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

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 ...

on June 3, 1908, to a seat on the

vacated by Member Wilbur Fisk Lunt. He was nominated to the same position by President Roosevelt on December 8, 1908. 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 January 11, 1909, and received his commission on January 15, 1909. His service terminated on March 3, 1913, due to his removal from office by President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

. He was succeeded by

George Stewart Brown George Stewart Brown (August 16, 1871 – November 11, 1941) was a judge of the United States Customs Court and a member of the Board of General Appraisers. Education and career Born on August 16, 1871, in Baltimore, Maryland, Brown received a ...

Circumstances of his removal from office

Chamberlain's removal from office followed an investigation by a commission appointed for the purpose and consisting of Assistant Attorney General Winfred T. Dennison, Collector of the Port of New York William Loeb and law officer of the Bureau of Insular Affairs

Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judic ...

future Supreme Court Justice. Chamberlain had been accused of incompetence in office. The commission determined on February 13, 1913 that Chamberlain was not an attorney and was not qualified to hold office. The commission further determined that decisions written by Chamberlain while on the Board had actually been prepared by another person. On March 3, 1913, President Taft upheld the commission's decision and removed Chamberlain from office.

Later life and death

After his removal from office, Chamberlain worked as a grocer in Bradford,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

from 1920 to 1930. His date and place of death are unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlain, Roy H. 1862 births 20th-century deaths Date of death unknown People from Clarinda, Iowa Members of the Board of General Appraisers United States Article I federal judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt 20th-century American judges