Federal Judge
In 1803, Byrd served as a delegate to Ohio's constitutional convention. On March 1, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson nominated Byrd to be the first Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Ohio, a new seat created by 2 Stat. 201. Byrd was confirmed by the United States Senate, and received his commission on March 3, 1803. The first Court sat in the statehouse at Chillicothe, Ohio on June 6, 1803.
In its first session, the court participated in the trial of Aaron Burr. The indictment charged Burr and Harman Blennerhassett, with commencing an expedition to wage war against Spain via Mexico, but the charges were eventually dropped in 1819. Another notable case for the curt was Osborn v. Bank of the United States, which arose out of the attempt of the Ohio Legislature to tax out of existence the bank's branches in Cincinnati and Chillicothe by imposing an annual $50,000 tax on each branch. The case reached the United States Supreme Court and the tax was held invalid following the case of McCulloch v. Maryland.
Byrd remained on the court until his death on August 25, 1828.
Read more about this topic: Charles Willing Byrd, Legal and Political Career
Famous quotes related to federal judge:
“Goodbye, boys; I’m under arrest. I may have to go to jail. I may not see you for a long time. Keep up the fight! Don’t surrender! Pay no attention to the injunction machine at Parkersburg. The Federal judge is a scab anyhow. While you starve he plays golf. While you serve humanity, he serves injunctions for the money powers.”
—Mother Jones (1830–1930)