Galleria: Playing Politics with the Judiciary
The bitterest partisan battles of Jefferson's first term in office involved the federal judiciary. View the following galleria to learn how the Republicans tried to blunt the power of the judicial branch.
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Just before the Republicans took office, the lame duck Federalist Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801. This act created new federal court positions and a circuit court of appeals. Though the Judiciary Act was a needed reform, it also allowed the Federalists to pack the judicial branch with members of their party. Republicans resented these "midnight appointments," who received their commissions in the last days of Adams's presidency. 
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The most notable of these new judges was John Marshall, whom Adams named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall was a Revolutionary War veteran with a sharp mind and a strong will. In fact, Marshall was the Attorney General for Adams and had approved the "midnight judges" appointments. His appointment as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court by Adams would define and shape the power of the judiciary for 34 years. 
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The Republicans denounced the Federalist effort to entrench itself in the federal government through judges who would serve life terms. Jefferson criticized the Judiciary Act for defying the will of the voters. He and the Republicans launched an assault on the judicial branch. In March 1802, Congress repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801, eliminating the new courts created a year earlier. 
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Jefferson next encouraged Congress to impeach Federalist judges openly critical of his administration. In 1804, the Senate removed John Pickering from the bench. House Republicans next targeted Samuel Chase. Unlike Pickering, who was mentally deranged, the outspoken Chase was neither incompetent nor guilty of criminal activity. The Senate refused to vote for a conviction. This verdict set an important precedent that impeachment would not be used as a partisan weapon against the judiciary. 
