The History of the D.C. Circuit Courts
1882
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Learn the part of the M’Naghten test in the trial of Charles Guiteau, assassin of President James Garfield.
The Assassination of President Garfield
Learn the part of the M’Naghten test in the trial of Charles Guiteau, assassin of President James Garfield.
1887
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Read about the judges and history of Chief Justice Edward Franklin Bingham's Courts from 1887 to 1903.
The Bingham Courts 1887 – 1903
Read about the judges and history of Chief Justice Edward Franklin Bingham's Courts from 1887 to 1903.
1900
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Is it possible that remnants of the old British law and the laws of Maryland and Virginia are still on the books in the District of Columbia?
D.C. Law: Almost as Old as the Magna Carta?
Is it possible that remnants of the old British law and the laws of Maryland and Virginia are still on the books in the District of Columbia?
1905
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Read about the judges and history of Chief Judge Shepard's Courts from 1905 to 1907.
The Shepard Courts 1905 -1907
Read about the judges and history of Chief Judge Shepard's Courts from 1905 to 1907.
1914
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Read about the judges and history of Chief Justice J. Harry Covington's Courts from 1914 to 1918.
The Covington Courts 1914 – 1918
Read about the judges and history of Chief Justice J. Harry Covington's Courts from 1914 to 1918.
1917
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Read about the judges and history of Chief Judge Smyth's Court in 1917.
The Smyth Court 1917
Read about the judges and history of Chief Judge Smyth's Court in 1917.
1918
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Read about the judges and history of Chief Justice Walter McCoy's Courts from 1918 to 1929.
The McCoy Courts 1918 – 1929
Read about the judges and history of Chief Justice Walter McCoy's Courts from 1918 to 1929.
1921
1922
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In July 2009, Almost 200 people listened intently as Roger M. Adelman and William D. Nussbaum made closing arguments drawn directly from the transcripts of two of the Teapot Dome trials (United States v. Albert Fall and United States v. Edward Doheny), arguments that were actually made by defense counsel Frank Hogan and Special Prosecutor and future Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts years ago.
Timeless Elements of a Great Closing Argument: Lessons from the Teapot Dome Trials
In July 2009, Almost 200 people listened intently as Roger M. Adelman and William D. Nussbaum made closing arguments drawn directly from the transcripts of two of the Teapot Dome trials (United States v. Albert Fall and United States v. Edward Doheny), arguments that were actually made by defense counsel Frank Hogan and Special Prosecutor and future Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts years ago.
1924
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Read about the judges and history of Chief Judge Martin's Courts from 1924 to 1935.
The Martin Courts 1924-1935
Read about the judges and history of Chief Judge Martin's Courts from 1924 to 1935.
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In 1924 Albert H. Fall became the first cabinet-level official convicted and imprisoned for a felony offense committed while in office during the Teapot Dome Scandal.
Teapot Dome, 1924–1931
In 1924 Albert H. Fall became the first cabinet-level official convicted and imprisoned for a felony offense committed while in office during the Teapot Dome Scandal.
1930
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Read about the judges and history of Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat's Courts from 1930 to 1941.
The Wheat Courts 1930 – 1941
Read about the judges and history of Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat's Courts from 1930 to 1941.
1933
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Thirty-one year old Robert Martin of Little Elm, Texas, doesn't remember what he paid for them. As a teenager, he bought two presidential documents at a thrift shop near Houston that no one else seemed to want - one bearing the signature of Franklin Roosevelt and the other, of Harry Truman.
A Texas-sized Mystery
Thirty-one year old Robert Martin of Little Elm, Texas, doesn't remember what he paid for them. As a teenager, he bought two presidential documents at a thrift shop near Houston that no one else seemed to want - one bearing the signature of Franklin Roosevelt and the other, of Harry Truman.
How a Pay Dispute Elevated the D.C. Circuit
It wasn't until 1933 that the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia achieved equal stature with their counterparts in the rest of the country.
1937
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Read about the judges and history of Chief Judge Groner's Courts from 1937 to 1945.
The Groner Courts 1937 -1945
Read about the judges and history of Chief Judge Groner's Courts from 1937 to 1945.
1937
End of an Era
Regarded as a high water mark of laissez faire capitalism, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1922 nullified a D.C. minimum wage law guaranteeing women hotel and hospital workers at least 34-and-a-half cents an hour or $16.50 a week.
1938
Path to a Judgeship
Being an active member of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia was Bolitha "Bo" Laws' path to a judgeship in the U.S. District Court in 1938. The Association's Journal carried his photograph after he became Bar President.
1939
Invitation to Red Mass
Each fall near the beginning of the Supreme Court's term, several Justices and other members of the Washington legal community attend the Red Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral. "An invitation to a Red Mass" published in the Journal of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia in 1939 sheds light on the origins and history of the service and its association with the judiciary.
Justice Wiley Rutledge: Court of Appeals Years – and After
In 1939, Wiley Blount Rutledge, Jr. -- the runner-up that year to Felix Frankfurter, then William O. Douglas, for a seat on the Supreme Court – was nominated by Franklin Roosevelt to a newly created sixth seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The Attorney General’s Pants
Frederick Tyler takes us back to the early 1900s in "The Attorney General's Pants." When the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia urgently needed to hire a private detective to chase a miscreant but had no appropriation to pay one, he turned to Attorney General Philander C. Knox for help with surprising results.
Now On Exhibit:
The History of the Courts of the D.C. Circuit
Created amidst the controversy over President John Adams’s appointment of the so-called “Midnight Judges,” the Courts of the District of Columbia Circuit have been transformed and transformative over the two centuries of their existence.
Visit the exhibit to learn how the D.C. Circuit Courts were formed and the challenges overcome in their creation.
Calmly to Poise The Scales of Justice:
A History of the Courts of the D.C. Circuit
Purchase the book now for $30
or send a check to:
The Historical Society of the D.C. Circuit
Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse
333 Constitution Ave NW, Room 4714
Washington, D.C. 20001