{{short description|United States federal judge}} {{More footnotes|date=December 2019}} {{Infobox judge |name = George English |image = George W. English cph.3a03600.jpg |office = Judge of the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois]] |appointer = [[Woodrow Wilson]] |term_start = May 3, 1918 |term_end = November 4, 1926 |predecessor = [[Francis Marion Wright]] |successor = [[Fred Louis Wham]] |office1 = Member of the [[Illinois House of Representatives]] |term_start1 = 1907 |term_end1 = 1912 |predecessor1 = |successor1 = |birth_name = George Washington English |birth_date = {{birth date|1866|5|9}} |birth_place = [[Vienna, Illinois]], U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1941|7|19|1866|5|9}} |death_place = [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], U.S. |party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] |education = [[Illinois Wesleyan University]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])}} }}
'''George Washington English''' (May 9, 1866 – July 19, 1941) was a [[United States federal judge|United States district judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois]]. Charged with abuse of power and other offenses, English was impeached by the [[United States House of Representatives]] on April 1, 1926, and resigned his position before proceedings could continue.<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|709|nid=1380496|name=George Washington English<!--(1866–1941)-->}}</ref>
==Education and career==
Born on May 9, 1866, near [[Vienna, Illinois|Vienna]], [[Illinois]],<ref name="auto"/> English received a [[Bachelor of Laws]] in 1891 from the now defunct law school at [[Illinois Wesleyan University]].<ref name="auto"/> He was chief deputy sheriff of [[Johnson County, Illinois|Johnson County]], Illinois from 1891 to 1892.<ref name="auto"/> He entered private practice in Vienna from 1893 to 1912.<ref name="auto"/> He served as city attorney of Vienna.<ref name="auto"/> He was a member of the [[Illinois House of Representatives]] from 1907 to 1912.<ref name="auto"/> He continued private practice in [[Centralia, Illinois|Centralia]], Illinois from 1912 to 1914.<ref name="auto"/> He was a special income tax attorney for the [[United States Department of the Treasury]] from 1914 to 1918.<ref name="auto"/>
==Federal judicial service==
English was nominated by President [[Woodrow Wilson]] on April 22, 1918, to a seat on the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois]] vacated by Judge [[Francis Marion Wright]].<ref name="auto"/> He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on May 3, 1918, and received his commission the same day.<ref name="auto"/>
===Impeachment and resignation=== English's service terminated on November 4, 1926, due to his resignation, after being impeached by the [[United States House of Representatives]] on April 1, 1926.<ref name="auto"/>
In March, 1926, the [[House Judiciary Committee]] voted 15–6 to recommend English's impeachment. A subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee was appointed to write [[articles of impeachment]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Congress: Judge English |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,721757,00.html |magazine=Time |access-date=30 December 2022 |date=22 March 1926}}</ref> The House voted to impeach by a vote of 306–60, on April 1, 1926.<ref name=govinfo/>
The five articles of English's impeachment were:
* Tyranny and oppression, and abuse of the powers of his office. * Partiality and favoritism, particularly to Charles B. Thomas, his referee in bankruptcy, to whom he was “under great obligation financial and otherwise.” * Improper and unlawful conduct in connection with a “bankruptcy ring” operating in his district. * Manipulation of bankruptcy and other funds, in conjunction with his referee in bankruptcy, for the pecuniary benefit of the referee, himself and his son. * A general course of conduct constituting misbehavior and misdemeanor in office.<ref name="ConstLawReporter">{{cite web |title=Impeachment of Judge George W English Dismissed After Resignation |url=https://constitutionallawreporter.com/2017/05/17/george-w-english/ |website=Constitutional Law Reporter |accessdate=23 September 2019 |language=en |date=17 May 2017}}</ref>
An [[Federal impeachment trial in the United States|impeachment trial]] was preliminary begun, but ended before full-blown proceedings were initiated and without a verdict, with the Senate dismissing impeachment charges at the House's request after English resigned from his office.<ref name=govinfo>{{cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-HPREC-HINDS-V3/pdf/GPO-HPREC-HINDS-V3-28.pdf|title=Impeachment Proceedings Not Resulting In Trial|publisher=}}</ref> He had been accused of abusive treatment of attorneys and litigants appearing before him.<ref name=govinfo/><ref>Multiple sources *{{cite web|url=http://www.justicelearning.org/justice_timeline/ArticlesTimeline.aspx?id=4&Section=18&TimelineEventID=1478|title=JusticeLearning : Articles|date=5 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005132942/http://www.justicelearning.org/justice_timeline/ArticlesTimeline.aspx?id=4&Section=18&TimelineEventID=1478|archive-date=2006-10-05}} *{{cite web|url=http://128.91.58.209/Articles/19261105_EnglishResign.pdf|date=30 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015140/http://128.91.58.209/Articles/19261105_EnglishResign.pdf|archive-date=2007-09-30}} *{{cite web |title=U.S. Senate: About Impeachment {{!}} Senate Trials |url=https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/impeachment/impeachment-list.htm |website=www.senate.gov |publisher=United States Senate Historical Office |access-date=8 December 2022}} *{{cite web |url=https://history.house.gov/Institution/Impeachment/Impeachment-List/ |title=List of Individuals Impeached by the House of Representatives |publisher=[[United States House of Representatives]] |access-date=January 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218232339/https://history.house.gov/Institution/Impeachment/Impeachment-List/ |archive-date=December 18, 2019 |url-status=live}} *{{cite web |last1=Price |first1=Anna |title=Research Guides: Federal Impeachment: George W. English |url=https://guides.loc.gov/federal-impeachment/george-english |website=guides.loc.gov |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=30 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
===Coverage===
[[John T. Rogers (journalist)|John T. Rogers]] of ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' won the [[1927 Pulitzer Prize]] for [[Pulitzer Prize for Reporting|Reporting]] with his coverage of the inquiry leading to English's impeachment.<ref>{{cite magazine |author= |title=Reporter Rogers |date=1937-03-15 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] magazine |url=https://time.com/archive/6756647/the-press-reporter-rogers/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125025412/https://time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,757384,00.html |url-status=live |archive-date=2012-01-25 |access-date=2008-08-10 }}</ref>
==Death==
English died on July 19, 1941, in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]].<ref name="auto"/> He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061005132942/http://www.justicelearning.org/justice_timeline/ArticlesTimeline.aspx?id=4&Section=18&TimelineEventID=1478 Justice Learning Timeline] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015140/http://128.91.58.209/Articles/19261105_EnglishResign.pdf ''The New York Times'', November 5, 1926] * {{FJC Bio|709|nid=1380496|name=George Washington English<!--(1866–1941)-->}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=[[Francis Marion Wright]]}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois]]}}|years=1918–1926}} {{s-aft|after=[[Fred Louis Wham]]}} {{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, George Washington}} [[Category:1866 births]] [[Category:1941 deaths]] [[Category:19th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:20th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:Illinois lawyers]] [[Category:Illinois Wesleyan University alumni]] [[Category:Impeached United States federal judges]] [[Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois]] [[Category:Members of the Illinois House of Representatives]] [[Category:People from Vienna, Illinois]] [[Category:United States district court judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson]] [[Category:20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly]]