# Samuel Chase Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1796–1811). The only Supreme Court justice ever impeached. ## Why he matters here The **1805 Chase acquittal is the load-bearing precedent for [[Judicial Independence]] in the United States.** Jeffersonian Republicans in the House impeached Chase — an outspoken Federalist who had run partisan sedition trials and lectured grand juries on politics — on eight articles amounting to the charge of *judging like a Federalist*. The Senate acquitted on every article, failing to reach two-thirds on any. The settled meaning of that acquittal: **a judge may not be impeached for the content of his rulings or his politics.** Impeachment reaches corruption and criminality, not disagreement. Every subsequent campaign to impeach judges over unfavorable decisions runs into Chase — including the 2025–2026 resolutions filed against district judges who ruled against the current administration (see [[Impeachment and Removal Process Flow]]). ## See also - [[Impeachment and Removal Process Flow]] — the machinery, and where Chase sits in it - [[Judicial Independence]] - [[Federal Judiciary Tree]]