The Court for the Trial of Impeachments, and the Correction of Errors was established by the
New York State Constitution
The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...
of 1777. It consisted then of the
Lieutenant Governor of New York
The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket w ...
(who is ''
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
'' President of the State Senate), the
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
, the justices of the
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by ...
and the members of the
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate.
Partisan comp ...
. It had two distinct jurisdictions: the trial of State officers who had been
impeached
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
by the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
, and it served as a court of last resort in which decisions of either the New York Supreme Court or the Chancellor could be reversed.
The Court for the Correction of Errors was abolished by the State Constitution of 1846, and its jurisdiction on appeals transferred to the succeeding
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by ...
.
Hiram Denio
Hiram Denio (May 21, 1799 – November 5, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1856 to 1857; and from 1862 to 1865.
Life
He was born on May 21, 1799, in Rome, Oneid ...
published the records of the cases which were tried in the Court for the Correction of Errors from 1830 to 1847.
The Court for the Trial of Impeachments, in the newspapers often referred to as the Impeachment Court or sometimes as the High Court of Impeachment, still exists. Since 1847, it consists of the Lieutenant Governor, the
Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals refers to the position of chief judge on the New York Court of Appeals. They are also known as the Chief Judge of New York.
The chief judge supervises the seven-judge Court of Appeals. In addition, th ...
, the associate judges of the Court of Appeals, and the members of the State Senate.
Any member of this court who has been impeached and is on trial himself, is temporarily excluded from it. Likewise, if the
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor h ...
impeachment trial
An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...
held by this court was the impeachment of Governor
William Sulzer
William Sulzer (March 18, 1863 – November 6, 1941) was an American lawyer and politician, nicknamed Plain Bill Sulzer. He was the 39th Governor of New York and a long-serving congressman from the same state.
Sulzer was the first, and to date ...
in 1913.
List of impeachment trials
1853
Canal Commissioner
John C. Mather
John Cromwell Mather (born August 7, 1946, Roanoke, Virginia) is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) with George Smoot.
This work helped c ...
(Dem.), acquitted - Lt. Gov.
Sanford E. Church
Sanford Elias Church (April 18, 1815 – May 14, 1880) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He served as Lieutenant Governor of the state of New York and chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals.
Early life
Born in Milford, O ...
presided.
1868
*Canal Commissioner Robert C. Dorn (Rep.), acquitted - Chief Judge Ward Hunt presided and voted against conviction.
**Votes for conviction: Judges Martin Grover (Dem.) and Theodore Miller (Dem.); State Senators Beach, Cauldwell, Crowley, Hall, Morris and Nichols - 8
**Votes against conviction: Judges Ward Hunt (Rep.), Lewis B. Woodruff (Rep.),
Charles Mason
Charles Mason (April 1728William J. Bacon (Rep.), Thomas W. Clerke and Charles C. Dwight; State Senators Chapman, Banks, Campbell, Hubbard, Humphrey, Kennedy, Mattoon, Morgan, Wicks, Palmer, Parker, Thayer, Van Patten - 19
William Sulzer
William Sulzer (March 18, 1863 – November 6, 1941) was an American lawyer and politician, nicknamed Plain Bill Sulzer. He was the 39th Governor of New York and a long-serving congressman from the same state.
Sulzer was the first, and to date ...
(Dem.), convicted - Chief Judge Edgar M. Cullen (Dem.) presided and voted against conviction.