Robert Trimble (November 17, 1776 – August 25, 1828) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

who served as Justice of the

Kentucky Court of Appeals The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illino ...

, as

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky and as

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a Justice (title), justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the J ...

from 1826 to his death in 1828. During his brief Supreme Court tenure he authored several

majority opinion In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision. Not all cases hav ...

s, including the decision in '' Ogden v. Saunders'', which was the only majority opinion that Chief Justice

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

ever dissented from during his 34 years on the Court.

Early life and career

Trimble was born on November 17, 1776, in Berkeley County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

to William Trimble (d. 1806) and Mary McMillan. He was three years old when his family

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms " Al ...

region of Virginia's

Kentucky County Kentucky County (aka Kentucke County), later the District of Kentucky, was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia from the western portion (beyond the Big Sandy River and Cumberland Mountains) of Fincastle County, Virginia, Fincastle County ...

, initially to Fort Boonesborough and then to a settlement in present-day

Clark County, Kentucky Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,972. Its county seat is Winchester. The county was created in 1792 from Bourbon and Fayette counties and is named for Revolutionary Wa ...

. He attended

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

and

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

under two attorneys, first George Nicholas and then (after Nicholas' death in 1799)

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

. He was licensed to practice law by the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1803 and began a law practice in

Paris, Kentucky Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky, and the county seat. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. It is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2020, it ha ...

. He established his office at Eades Tavern, which also became his home. On August 18, 1803, he married Nancy P. Timberlake; together they had at least 10 children. Their daughter Rebecca married Garrett Davis, who represented Kentucky in the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

(1839–1847) and then in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

(1861–1872). Another of Trimble's daughters was the mother of James G. Jones, the first mayor of

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

and the third

Indiana Attorney General The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state, State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is ...

. Trimble was elected to represent Bourbon County in the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

in 1802. A staunch Jeffersonian Republican, he served only one term, as he intensely disliked the tumult of politics. He thereafter refused election to any public office, including two nominations to the U.S. Senate. In 1807, Trimble accepted an appointment to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, but resigned in 1809 for financial and family reasons; he later declined an appointment to become that Court's chief justice in 1810. From 1813 to 1817 he served as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Kentucky. During this time, Trimble proved himself a tireless legal researcher and an energetic prosecutor. Trimble also owned twenty-three slaves at the time of the 1820 census.

Federal judicial service

U.S. District Court for Kentucky

Trimble was nominated as

District Judge District Judge may refer to: * A United States federal judge, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate * A judge in a state court (United States), where the state is divided into judicial districts * * A judge in the district courts ...

for the U.S. District Court for Kentucky by President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

on January 28, 1817. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 31, 1817, he served for nine years, until his appointment to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

in May 1826.

Supreme Court

Nomination and confirmation

Trimble was nominated as an

associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the U.S. Supreme Court by President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

on April 11, 1826, to succeed

Thomas Todd Thomas Todd (January 23, 1765 – February 7, 1826) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1807 to 1826. Raised in the Colony of Virginia, he studied law and later participated in the founding of Kentucky, ...

. Opposition to the nomination came from fellow Kentuckian, Senator John Rowan, whose

states' rights In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...

views ran counter to positions taken by Trimble while serving on the circuit court that favored federal authority over state authority. The effort to stall the nomination failed, and Trimble was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 9, 1826, by a 27–5 vote.

Tenure

Trimble served on the Court from June 16, 1826, until August 25, 1828. During his Supreme Court tenure, Trimble generally agreed with the opinions of Chief Justice

. In a notable departure, he wrote the majority opinion in the case of '' Ogden v. Saunders''; Marshall wrote the dissenting opinion in the case.

Death and legacy

Following the 1828 Supreme Court term, Trimble returned home. That summer, he became ill with a

bilious fever Bilious fever was a medical diagnosis of fever associated with excessive bile or bilirubin in the blood stream and tissues, causing jaundice (a yellow color in the skin or sclera of the eye). The most common cause was malaria. Viral hepatitis and ...

and died on August 25, at the age of 52. He was interred in Paris Cemetery. Following Trimble's death, Chief Justice Marshall wrote to Senator

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

saying, Justice

Joseph Story Joseph Story (September18, 1779September10, 1845) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin ...

, who served with Trimble, wrote,

Trimble County, Kentucky Trimble County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Bedford. The county was founded in 1837 and is named for Robert Trimble. Trimble is no longer a prohibition or dry county. Trimble Co ...

, established in 1837, is named for Justice Trimble. Also, the

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

, built in

Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-larges ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, was named in his honor.

Notes

References

External links

Links to all opinions written by Robert Trimble on the US Supreme Court, from www.courtlistener.com
Robert Trimble
at the '' Biographical Directory of Federal Judges'', a

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

publication of the

Federal Judicial Center The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States. According to , the main areas of re ...

.
Justices 1789 to Present
www.supremecourt.gov, Supreme Court of the United States. {{DEFAULTSORT:Trimble, Robert 1776 births 1828 deaths 19th-century Kentucky state court judges American Presbyterians American prosecutors Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky Kentucky Democratic-Republicans Kentucky state court judges Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives People from Berkeley County, West Virginia United States attorneys for the District of Kentucky United States federal judges appointed by James Madison United States federal judges appointed by John Quincy Adams Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law United States Supreme Court justices who owned slaves Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals Burials at Paris Cemetery 19th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly