Constitutional Law Reporter
Award
Menu
  • Home
  • US Constitution
  • Supreme Court Cases
  • Justices
    • Chief Supreme Court Justices
    • Current Supreme Court Justices
    • Past US Supreme Court Justices
  • American Biographies
    • General
    • Presidents
    • Vice-Presidents
    • First Ladies
    • Signers of the U.S. Constitution
    • Signers of the Declaration of Independence
    • Delegates of the U.S. Constitution
    • Misc – Great American Bios
  • Articles
    • Current Cases
    • Historical Cases
    • Impeachment
  • Videos
  • Links
Hot-Topics

October 8, 2025 | Supreme Court Stays Order Blocking Roving Immigration Patrols in CA

Federal Judge James H. Peck Not Guilty of Abuse of Power

U.S. District Court for the District of Missouri Judge James H. Peck was the third judicial officer impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate, however, found him not guilty of the abuse of power charges.

Federal Judgeship 

Born in 1790, in Jefferson County, Tennessee, Peck fought during the War of 1812. After the conflict ended, he established a private law practice in Tennessee and later Missouri. In 1822, President James Monroe nominated Peck to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Missouri. Under 3 Stat. 653. H, Congress organized Missouri as one judicial district and authorized one judgeship for the U.S. district court. Peck served as a U.S. district court judge for U.S. District Court for the District of Missouri from 1822 to 1836.

Impeachment

Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution provides that judges “shall hold their Offices during good Behavior.” Meanwhile, Article II, Section 4 defines impeachment offenses as “Treason, Bribery, and other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Under Article I, the House of Representatives has “the sole Power of Impeachment” of federal officers, while the Senate has “the sole Power to try all Impeachments.”

Judge Peck faced impeachment for how he responded to a lawyer who criticized one of his decisions. In response to Peck’s ruling in a land dispute arising out of the Louisiana Purchase, attorney Luke Lawless published an anonymous letter that rebutted the judge’s legal reasoning.

After discovering his identity, Peck charged the attorney with contempt, ordered him to be imprisoned for 24 hours, and disbarred him for 18 months. The contempt order charged the lawyer with the following:

Intent to impair the public confidence in the upright intentions of said court, and to bring odium upon the court, and especially with intent to impress the public mind, and particularly many litigants in this court, that they are not to expect justice in the cases now pending therein.

The scorned attorney advocated for Peck to be impeached. At Peck’s subsequent impeachment trial, members of the House debated whether one incident of gross abuse of power rose to the level of impeachment. The House ultimately passed Articles of Impeachment after determining that his conduct was unjust, arbitrary, and beyond the scope of his duty.

The Senate acquitted Peck of the abuse of power charge, with just one vote separating the guilty and not guilty votes. He held his seat on the district court until his death in 1836.

For more information on Federal Impeachments, please visit the Impeachment of Federal Judges in our interactive Constitution section.

For a table of all Federal Judges that have been impeached please visit our Impeachment of Federal Judges page.

Previous Articles

SCOTUS Holds No Minimum Contacts Required for Personal Jurisdiction Over Foreign States Under FSIA
by DONALD SCARINCI on October 2, 2025

In CC/Devas (Mauritius) Limited v. Antrix Corp. Ltd., 605 U.S. ____ (2025), the U.S. Supreme Court ...

Read More
SCOTUS Sides With Trump Administration Over NIH Grants Tied to DEI Initiatives
by DONALD SCARINCI on September 26, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court continues to issue emergency orders involving legal challenges to policy cha...

Read More
SCOTUS Rejects Challenge to South Carolina’s Exclusion of Planned Parenthood from State Medicaid Program
by DONALD SCARINCI on September 16, 2025

In Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, 606 U.S. ____ (2025), the U.S. Supreme Court held t...

Read More
All Posts

The Amendments

  • Amendment1
    • Establishment ClauseFree Exercise Clause
    • Freedom of Speech
    • Freedoms of Press
    • Freedom of Assembly, and Petitition
    Read More
  • Amendment2
    • The Right to Bear Arms
    Read More
  • Amendment4
    • Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
    Read More
  • Amendment5
    • Due Process
    • Eminent Domain
    • Rights of Criminal Defendants
    Read More

Preamble to the Bill of Rights

Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

Read More

More Recent Posts

  • Supreme Court Clarifies Applicability of First Step Act to Vacated Sentences
  • SCOTUS Rules E-Cigarette Retailers Can Challenge FDA Order in Fifth Circuit
  • Supreme Court Expands Judicial Review of Agency Actions
  • Supreme Court Pauses Order Reinstating CPSC Commissioners

Constitutional Law Reporter Twitter

A Twitter List by S_H_Law

Constitutional Law Reporter RSS

donald scarinci constitutional law attorney

Editor

Donald Scarinci

Managing Partner

Scarinci Hollenbeck

(201) 806-3364

Awards


Follow me

© 2018 Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC. All rights reserved.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney Advertising