William Johnson (judge)

William Johnson (born 17 or December 27, 1771 in Charleston, South Carolina; † August 4, 1834 in New York City ) was an American lawyer and judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Family and Youth

Johnson's father, William Johnson Sr., was a fighter in the American Revolutionary War. For this reason he was banished from Henry Clinton to St. Augustine. His mother Sarah Nightingale also participated in the revolution. " During the siege of Charleston, she stuffed her petticoats with cartridges made to bring this to her husband. " He studied law at Princeton University, graduated in 1790 from Johnson. After further lessons with Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Johnson received his license to practice law in 1793. In 1794 he married Sarah Bennett. With her he had a daughter, Anna Hayes Johnson, who later Romulus Mitchell Saunders married.

Work as a politician

From 1794 to 1798 represented Johnson, a member of the Democratic- Republican Party, his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina House of Representatives, from 1796 as its speaker. In 1798 he was appointed judge of the newly established Supreme Court of South Carolina.

Work as a federal judge

On March 22, 1804 Thomas Jefferson Johnson named as a candidate for the post of assessors judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. On 24 March 1804 he was confirmed by the Senate of the United States and came two days later in the footsteps of Alfred Moore. Johnson was the first of three federal judges appointed by Jefferson. During his time at the Supreme Court Johnson championed always his opinion. While John Marshall was able to gather as Chairman of the majority of the judges behind him, Johnson developed a reputation as the representatives of the dissenting opinion. In 1808, the independence Johnson was particularly evident as he gave the instructions of the Attorney General Caesar A. Rodney and Thomas Jefferson opposed because he was of the opinion that the executive should not hold the control over questions of maritime trade. During the dispute over the Nullifikationsdoktrin that lasted from 1831 to 1833 Johnson tried to maintain his independence by the fact that he gave up his residence in South Carolina in order to escape the pressure of the public. Johnson died in 1834 after a jaw surgery. He is buried in the graveyard of St. Philip 's Church in Charleston.