Jefferson Administrations - Jefferson and the Judiciary
Jefferson and the Judiciary
Jefferson entered office hoping to reduce the Federalist dominance in the judiciary. To this end, he sought to repeal the recently enacted Judiciary Act of 1801, and eliminate many Federalist judge's jobs. The plan, however, presented a constitutional problem. Federal judges have lifetime tenure under the Constitution, purposefully to insulate them from the vacillating whims of the masses. Dismissing those who simply had not received their signed commissions arguably violated that tenure. Jefferson was undaunted by this technicality. "On great occasions," he wrote, "every good officer must be ready to risk himself in going beyond the strict line of the law, when the public preservation requires it; his motives will be a justification" (McDonald, p. 49).
Republicans introduced a repeal bill into the Senate in January of 1802. Debate proceeded along party lines, but the vote was a tie. Vice President...
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