New York
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* ...
. In 1865, he was elected Canal Commissioner on the Republican ticket. In May 1868, he was put on trial by the Senate of New York in the Court of Impeachment, becoming the second person
tried
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, wh ...
by the
New York Court for the Trial of Impeachments
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* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
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.
Life
Robert C. Dorn lived in
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...
.
Repair Commissioner
He was appointed Superintendent of Canal Repairs for Section 2 of the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
, when he was named the Superintendent of Repairs for only section # 2 in January 1856, with
William Eggleston
William Eggleston, (born July 27, 1939) is an American photographer. He is widely credited with increasing recognition of color photography as a legitimate artistic medium. Eggleston's books include ''William Eggleston's Guide'' (1976) and ''The ...
becoming superintendent for #1. He was then appointed Superintendent of Canal Repairs for Sections 1, 3, 4 and 5 until the end of 1864, and continued with Sections 1, 2 and 3 in 1865.
As of 1865, all repair sections of the canal were in charge of Robert C. Dorn as superintendent, and he was replaced in that role on January 24, 1855, when George Heath was appointed superintendent for sections four and five, with Dorn remaining in charge of one, two, and three.
Canal Commissioner
He was selected to run for Canal Commissioner on the Republican ticket on September 20, 1865, after being nominated at the New-York Republican Union State Convention. In November 1865, Dorn won the race in the New York state elections of 1865. He took the role of Canal Commissioner on January 1, 1866, with the term to last three years. He was a Canal Commissioner from 1866 to 1868.
It was published in 1870 that $16,340 had been transferred from the Fund of the Erie Canal Enlargement for enlargement and completion of the canals to the Canal Commissioners, with Robert C. Dorn of the Eastern Division receiving $376 of that total. Tolls on the Erie canal were reported to be $3,666,093, with Dorn as of September 30, 1868, holding $5,450 of the balances on hand for the Canal Commissioner. He oversaw a number of financially significant improvement investments on the canal, including $27,166 for "extraordinary repairs".
Initial impeachment
Many New Yorker's felt corruption was a major cause of the canal system's troubles. In 1867 at the state Constitutional Convention,
Erastus Brooks
Erastus Brooks (January 31, 1815 – November 25, 1886) was an American newspaper editor and politician from New York.
Life
He was born on January 31, 1815, in Portland, then in the District of Maine, Massachusetts, the son of Capt. James Brooks ...
alleged canal contracts of being awarded to the highest bidder. A commission was established, consisting of James Gibson, Henry C. Murphy, Charles Stanford, William Bristol, William S. Clark, George W. Millspaugh, and counsel Henry Smith. It concluded there were "gross and monstrous frauds".
Concerning Dorn's history of awarding contracts, a court assembled in the Albany Senate Chamber on March 31, 1868, under Stewart L. Woodford, Lieutenant-Governor of the State and President of the Senate. The managers appointed to conduct the trial were John C. Jacobs, John L. Flagg, John F. Little, William B. Quinn, E. L. Pitts, Alpheus Prince, and N. B. La Ban. The honorable William A. Beach, John H. Reynolds, and Henry Smith were counsel for the Dorn. Assembled to ascertain whether Dorn had, in 1886 and 1867, awarded construction contracts in a corrupt fashion while ignoring a prior law to select the cheapest bid, a resolution impeaching him of high crimes and misdemeanors passed the assembly with a unanimous vote.
The court re-assembled in the Senate Chamber on April 2, 1868.
He was
impeached
Impeachment is a 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 Eu ...
by a unanimous vote of 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 ...
. The First Article charged him with "complicity in a combination made by contractors". Article Two charged him with "letting a contract to the highest instead of the lowest bidder". Article Four charged him with "letting contracts without advertising some".
Court of Impeachment, May 1868
In May 1868, the Court of Appeals and the New York Senate met jointly as a
Court of Impeachment
A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law.
Courts general ...
to settle the matter of Dorn's case. The trial before the Court of Impeachments opened on May 26 at Albany. During the first meeting, there was a motion from the defense to quash the Fourth Article accusations of Dorn awarding contracts without advertising them first. On May 27, 1868, the Court of Appeals and the Senate again met jointly as a Court of Impeachment, with counsel for the defendant arguing that senator Sandford, as Chairman of the Canal Investigating Committee, had prejudged the case on several points. On June 12, 1886, Dorn was acquitted with a vote of 8 for conviction, among them
Martin Grover
Martin Grover (October 20, 1811 Hartwick, Otsego County, New York – August 23, 1875 Angelica, Allegany County, New York) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from New York. He served one term in the United States House of Represent ...
,
Theodore Miller
Theodore Miller (May 16, 1816 – August 18, 1895) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
Life
Born in Hudson, Columbia County, New York, he was admitted to the bar in 1837. He was District Attorney of Columbia County from 1843 t ...
, and 19 against, among them
Ward Hunt
Ward Hunt (June 14, 1810 – March 24, 1886) was an American jurist and politician. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1868 to 1869, and an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1872 to 1882.
Early life, family ...
Erie Canal Commission
The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...