Today in Supreme Court History: May 26, 1868

5/26/1868: Senate acquitted President Andrew Johnson and adjourned as court of impeachment. Chief Justice Chase presided over that trial. Johnson is one of four presidents that did not appoint any Supreme Court Justices. The others are William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and Jimmy Carter.

President Andrew Johnson

Comments

[JoeFromtheBronx]

This was put forth by the Trump side as a principled precedent that should be followed in his case. Unlike Johnson, however, he did not simply go away, showing up for a brief return in Congress (before dying). If Johnson was going to be the candidate in 1868, for instance, his acquittal would have been different.

Johnson also promised not to cause any more trouble if he was acquitted. He kept his promise. Again, compare Trump, both times.

[Syd Henderson]

The reason he didn't appoint any Supreme Court justices is Judicial Circuits Act of 1866, which reduced the number of circuits to seven by attrition. Two justices died during his administration. I always thought this was proposed because Johnson was president, but it was proposed in 1863. That may explain why Johnson signed it. However, I'm sure he was a big reason it passed.

When Grant became president, the Court promptly went back to nine judges.