![]() The trial managers (members of the House of Representatives) hoped to prove that Chase had "behaved in an arbitrary, oppressive, and unjust way by announcing his legal interpretation on the law of treason before defense counsel had been heard." Highlighting the political nature of this case, the final article of impeachment accused the justice of continually promoting his political agenda on the bench, thereby "tending to prostitute the high judicial character with which he was invested, to the low purpose of an electioneering partizan." The House voted to impeach Chase on March 12, 1804, accusing Chase of refusing to dismiss biased jurors and of excluding or limiting defense witnesses in two politically sensitive cases. Representative John Randolph of Virginia, at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson, orchestrated impeachment proceedings against Chase, declaring he would wipe the floor with the obnoxious justice. A staunch Federalist with a volcanic personality, Chase showed no willingness to tone down his bitter partisan rhetoric after Jeffersonian Republicans gained control of Congress in 1801. Samuel Chase had served on the Supreme Court since 1796. More than the first two proceedings, however, this third trial challenged the Senate to explore the meaning of impeachable crimes. The second impeachment trial, in 1804, removed a federal judge for reasons of drunkenness and insanity. The Senate dismissed the case, citing lack of jurisdiction. In 17, the Senate had tried a senator previously expelled on grounds of treason. ![]() On November 30, 1804, for the third time in its brief history, the Senate began preparations for an impeachment trial.
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