Impeachment by state and territorial governments of the United States
Procedures for trial and removal of US state officials
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Similar to the Congress of the United States, state legislatures can impeach state officials, including governors and judicial officers in every state.[1][2] In addition, the legislatures of the territories of American Samoa,[3] Northern Mariana Islands,[4] and Puerto Rico[5] have impeachment powers. Impeachment describes the process through which the legislature may bring charges and hold a trial with a penalty including removal from office.
Some aspects of how impeachment is conducted in different states and territories different, however they all commonly follow the two-stage model used by the federal government of having a legislative chamber first vote to impeach an official before then holding an impeachment trial to determine whether to convict and remove that official.
Impeachment processes by state/territory
Some aspects of how impeachment is conducted in different states and territories different, however they all commonly follow the two-stage model used by the federal government of having a legislative chamber first vote to impeach an official before then holding an impeachment trial to determine whether to convict and remove that official. This takes cues from the practice of impeachment in England.[6] Like the federal government, most have their lower chamber of their legislatures hold the vote to impeach, and have the subsequent impeachment trial take place in the upper chamber of their legislatures.[6][1] However, several states do differ from the convention of holding the impeachment trial in their upper chamber. In a reverse, in Alaska it is the upper chamber of the legislature that votes to impeach while the lower chamber acts as the court of impeachment.[1] In Missouri, after the lower chamber votes to impeach, an impeachment trial is held before the Supreme Court of Missouri, except for members of that court or for governors, whose impeachments are to be tried by a panel of seven judges (requiring a vote of five judges to convict), with the members of the panel being selected by the upper legislative chamber, the Missouri State Senate.[7] In Nebraska, which has a unicameral legislature, after the Nebraska Legislature votes to impeach, an impeachment trial takes place before the Nebraska Supreme Court.[1] In addition to all the members of its upper chamber, the state of New York's Court of the Trial of Impeachments also includes all seven members of the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals.[8]
Before the 2024 ratification of an amendment adding an impeachment clause to its state constitution, Oregon was the only state without impeachment.[9][10][11]
| State/territory/fed. district | Body which impeaches | Body which holds trial/convicts | Offices subject to impeachment by state/territorial government | Presiding officer specifications for trials | Specified reasons for which officials can be impeached[1] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | House of Representatives (majority vote needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
|
Chief Justice or associate justice of the Supreme Court (Governor and Lieutenant governor)[12] | "Willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency, or intemperance in the use of intoxicating liquors or narcotics to such an extent, in view of the dignity of the office and importance of its duties, as unfits the officer for the discharge of such duties for any offense involving moral turpitude while in office, or committed under color thereof, or connected therewith" | House of Representatives rules currently require a several-step process before a vote on impeachment can be held, including a requirement that 63 members of the House (equivalent to three-fifths of its membership) vote to permit articles of impeachment to be considered by the House | [13][14] |
| Alaska | Senate (two-thirds vote needed) |
House of Representatives (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"All civil officers of the State" | A justice of the Supreme Court (all trials) | None specified, but motion for impeachments are required to list fully the basis for the proceeding | Judgement is limited to removal from office (no ability to bar future eligibility to hold office) | [15] |
| American Samoa (territory) | House of Representatives (support of two-thirds of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
Governor; lieutenant Governor; chief justice and associate justices of the High Court of American Samoa; associate judges; district court judges | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of American Samoa | None specified, but Legislature is to provide the causes for impeachment | [16] | |
| Arizona | House of Representatives (majority of the entire membership needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
"Every public officer in the state of Arizona, holding an elective office, either by election or appointment" | Chief justice of Arizona (all trials except for trials of the chief justice) (Should the chief justice be on trial or otherwise disqualified from presiding, the Senate chooses another judge of the Arizona Supreme Court to preside) | "High crimes, misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office" | [17][18] | |
| Arkansas | House of Representatives (majority vote needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed) |
All state officers (including the governor), judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts, chancellors, prosecuting attorneys | Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Arkansas (all trials except for trials of the chief justice) (Should the chief justice be on trial or otherwise disqualified from presiding, the Senate chooses another presiding officer) | "High crimes and misdemeanors and gross misconduct in office" | [19][20] | |
| California | State Assembly | State Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"State officers elected on a statewide basis, members of the State Board of Equalization, and judges of state courts" | "Misconduct in office" | Impeached officials are suspended from practicing the functions their office until the judgement of the trial; convictions can result in removal from office and disqualification or alternative in temporary suspension from office; trials are required to be prosecuted by impeachment managers elected by the State Assembly. The impeachment managers author the articles of impeachment on which the officer is to be tried by the Senate. | [21][22] | |
| Colorado | House of Representatives (support of a majority of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Governor and other state and judicial officers" | Chief justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial trials) | "High crimes or misdemeanors or malfeasance in office" | General Assembly has the power to also suspend "any officer in his functions pending impeachment...for misconduct in office." | [23] |
| Connecticut | House of Representatives | Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) | "Governor, and all other executive and judicial officers" | Chief justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial trials) | none specified | [24] | |
| Delaware | House of Representatives (support of two-thirds of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Governor and all other civil officers" |
|
"Treason, bribery, or any high crime or misdemeanor in office" | [25] | |
| District of Columbia (federal district) | (no impeachment clause) | [26] | |||||
| Florida | House of Representatives (two-thirds vote needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
Governor, administrative officers of the Executive Department, justices of the Supreme Court of Florida, and judges of the Circuit Court |
|
"Misdemeanor in office" | The Constitution of Florida requires that impeachment trials be concluded within six months of the impeachment vote. Additionally, the Constitution of Florida explicitly permits the speaker of the House to committees to conduct impeachment inquiries. | [27] |
| Georgia | House of Representatives | Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Any executive or judicial officer" of Georgia or "any member of the General Assembly" | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia (if the chief justice is disqualified, then the presiding justice of the Supreme Court is to preside. If the presiding justice too is disqualified, then the Senate is to select another justice of the Supreme Court to preside) | None specified | [28] | |
| Guam (territory) | (no impeachment clause) | [26] | |||||
| Hawaii | House of Representatives | Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
Governor, lieutenant governor, and "any appointive officer for whose removal the consent of the senate is required" | Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii | "For causes that may be provided by law" | [29] | |
| Idaho | House of Representatives | Senate (two-thirds vote with a majority quorum needed to convict) |
None specified | Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Idaho (gubernatorial trials) | After articles of impeachment against them are presented to the Senate, officers are temporarily suspended from their office and prohibited from acting in their official capacity until the judgement of the trial. Upon such suspension of any state officer, the office "must at once be temporarily filled by an appointment made by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate" until the impeached officer is acquitted or (in case of removal) until the vacancy is permanently filled as required by law." | [30][31] | |
| Illinois | House (majority vote needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Executive and Judicial officers" | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial trials) | none, but legislative investigations are required to determine a cause | [32] | |
| Indiana | House of Representatives | Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"All state officers" (except justices of the Supreme Court of Indiana; judges of the Court of Appeals of Indiana; judges of the Indiana tax court; all other judges; prosecuting attorneys; and all county, city, town, and township officers) | Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Indiana (gubernatorial trials) | "Crime, incapacity, or negligence" | Trials required to be prosecuted by impeachment managers that are elected by the House of Representatives. Impeachment managers are also to author the articles of impeachment. | [33] |
| Iowa | House | Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
Governor, judges of the Supreme Court of Iowa and Iowa District Courts, and other state officers | "Misdemeanor or malfeasance in office" | [34] | ||
| Kansas | House | Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
Governor and all other state constitutional officers | "Treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" | [35] | ||
| Kentucky | House | Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) | Governor and all civil officers |
|
"Misdemeanor in office" | [36][37] | |
| Louisiana | House of Representatives | Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
State or district officials (elected or appointed) | "Felony, malfeasance, or gross misconduct while in such office" | [38] | ||
| Maine | House of Representatives | Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
"Every person holding civil office under this State, may be removed by impeachment" | "Misdemeanor in office" | Maine also allows removal by "address", where the governor has to power to remove any officer holder on the address of the Legislature | [39] | |
| Maryland | House of Delegates (majority of the entire membership needed) |
Senate (two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
Governor, lieutenant governor, judges | "No grounds listed" | [40] | ||
| Massachusetts | House of Representatives | Senate | "Any officer or officers of the commonwealth" | "Misconduct or maladministration in office" | [41] | ||
| Michigan | House of Representatives (majority of the entire membership needed to impeach) |
Senate (two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Corrupt conduct in office or crimes or misdemeanors" | Impeachment trial is to be prosecuted by three impeachment managers elected from and by the House of Representatives; impeached judicial officers are suspended from practicing the functions their office until the judgement of the trial | [42] | ||
| Minnesota | House of Representatives (majority of the entire membership needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
Governor, secretary of state, auditor, attorney general, justices of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District Courts | "Corrupt conduct in office or crimes or misdemeanors" | Impeached officials are suspended from exercising the duties of their office until the judgement of the trial | [43] | |
| Mississippi | House of Representatives (two-thirds vote needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
Governor and all other civil officers | Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi (gubernatorial impeachments) (if chief justice is disqualified, disabled, or declines to preside, the next-longest tenured Supreme Court judge is to preside) | "Treason, bribery, or any high crime or misdemeanor in office" | [44] | |
| Missouri | Missouri House of Representatives |
|
"All elective executive officials of the state" and justices of the Supreme Court of Missouri, Missouri Court of Appeals, and Missouri Circuit Courts | "Crimes, misconduct, habitual drunkenness, willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency, or any offense of moral turpitude or oppression in office" | [45][46] | ||
| Montana | House of Representatives (two-thirds vote needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"The governor, executive officers, heads of state departments, judicial officers, and such other officers" | "Legislature must determine causes, manner, and procedure for impeachment" | [47][48] | ||
| Nebraska | Legislature (support of majority of the membership needed) |
|
Civil officers | "Misdemeanor in office. Alleged acts or omissions must be stated in impeachment resolution" | Trials are to be prosecuted by two impeachment managers elected by and from the Legislature | [49][50] | |
| Nevada | Assembly (support of majority of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
Governor and other state and judicial officers, except justices of the peace and state legislators | Chief justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial impeachments) |
"Misdemeanor or malfeasance in office" | [51][52] | |
| New Hampshire | House of Representatives | Senate | Officers (including members of the Executive Council) | Chief justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial impeachments) | "Bribery, corruption, malpractice, or maladministration in office" | [53][54][55] | |
| New Jersey | General Assembly (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
All state officers (including the governor, justices of the Supreme Court, and judges of the Superior Court, etc.) during their tenure in office as well as the two years after they leave office | Chief justice of the Supreme Court | "Misdemeanor while in office" | [56] | ||
| New Mexico | House of Representatives (support of majority of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
Chief justice of the Supreme Court (for gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial impeachments) | "Crimes, misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office" | [57] | ||
| New York | State Assembly (support of majority of the membership needed) |
Court for the Trial of Impeachments made up of members of the Senate and the Court of Appeals. In gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial impeachments, the lieutenant governor and the temporary president/majority leader of the Senate are prohibited from participating (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
None specified | Impeached judicial officers are suspended from their office until the judgement of the trial | [58][59][60] | ||
| North Carolina | House of Representatives (majority vote needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict with a majority quorum) |
|
"Commission of a felony, a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, malfeasance in office, or willful neglect of duty" | Impeached officials are suspended from their office until the judgement of the trial | [61] | |
| North Dakota | House of Representatives (support of majority of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed for conviction) |
"Governor and other state and judicial officers of the state, except municipal judges" | "Habitual drunkenness, crimes, corrupt conduct, or malfeasance or misdemeanor in office" | [63] | ||
| Northern Mariana Islands (territory) | House of Representatives (two-thirds vote needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
Governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, justices and judges | no specified directive |
|
[64][65] | |
| Ohio | House of Representatives (support of majority of the membership needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
"Governor, judges, and all state officers" | "Misdemeanor in office" | [66] | ||
| Oklahoma | House of Representatives | Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
Governor and "other elective state officers" (including the justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals) |
|
"Willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, habitual drunkenness, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude while in office " | [67] | |
| Oregon | House (absolute two-thirds vote needed to impeach) |
Senate (absolute two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
statewide elected officials of the Executive Branch (the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, commissioner of labor and industries) | chief justice of Supreme Court | "malfeasance or corrupt conduct in office, willful neglect of statutory or constitutional duty, or other felony or high crime" | [11] | |
| Pennsylvania | House | Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
"Governor and all other civil officers" | "Misbehavior in office" | [68] | ||
| Puerto Rico (territory) | House of Representatives (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to impeach) |
Senate (support of three-fourths of the membership needed to convict) |
Chief justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial impeachments) | "Treason, bribery, other felonies, and misdemeanors involving moral turpitude" | Judgement is limited to removal from office (no ability to bar future eligibility to hold office) | [69] | |
| Rhode Island | House of Representatives(two-thirds vote needed to remove governor; majority vote for all other officers) | Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) | "Governor and all other executive and judicial officers" | Chief or presiding justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial impeachments) |
|
Impeachment resolutions will not be considered by the House unless they are signed by a quarter of House members; impeached officers are suspended from office until the judgement of the trial is pronounced; judgement is limited to removal from office (no ability to bar future eligibility to hold office) | [70] |
| South Carolina | House of Representatives (support of two-thirds of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Officials elected on a statewide basis, state judges, and such other state officers as may be designated by law" | Chief justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial impeachments) if the chief justice is disqualified, then the senior justice is to preside | "Serious crimes or serious misconduct in office" | Impeached officials are suspended from their office until the judgement of the trial is pronounced; judgement is limited to removal from office (no ability to bar future eligibility to hold office) | [71] |
| South Dakota | House of Representatives (support of majority of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Governor and other state and judicial officers, except county judges, justices of the peace and police magistrates" | Lieutenant governor is prohibited from presiding over or participating in gubernatorial impeachment trials | "Drunkenness, crimes, corrupt conduct, or malfeasance or misdemeanor in office" | Impeached officials are suspended from their office until the judgement of the trial; South Carolina constitution's impeachment rules include a double jeopardy clause protecting any officer against being impeached twice for the same offense | [72] |
| Tennessee | House of Representatives | Senate (support of two-thirds of senators sworn-in to try the impeachment is needed to convict) |
Governor, judges of Supreme Court, judges of the inferior courts, chancellors, attorneys for the state, treasurer, comptroller, and secretary of state |
|
Committing of "any crime in their official capacity which may require disqualification" | Trial to be prosecuted by three impeachment managers elected by and from the House; the General Assembly has the authority to remove any disqualification from holding office that was placed on an individual through a past impeachment judgement; the Legislature has the authority to initiate similar removal proceedings against justices of the peace, and other civil officers not eligible for impeachment, with removal/disqualification trial to take place in any "court" which the Legislature directs (such trials effectively amount to impeachment, but unlike impeachment are also allowed to enforce "other punishment as may be prescribed by law" | [73] |
| Texas | House of Representatives | Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
Governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, land commissioner, comptroller and judges | None specified | Impeached officials are suspended from their office until the judgement of the trial; Texas Constitution enables the Legislature to pass laws allowing for removal trials for officers that are not eligible for impeachment; with two-thirds approval from each chamber of the Legislature; the governor can remove judges for "wilful neglect of duty, incompetency, habitual drunkenness, oppression in office, or other reasonable cause which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment" with the judges to be able to defend themselves in hearing before the Legislature votes | [74] | |
| United States Virgin Islands (territory) | (no impeachment clause) | [26][75][76] | |||||
| Utah | House of Representatives (support of two-thirds of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Governor and other state and judicial officers" | Chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court (gubernatorial impeachments) in the case that they are disqualified or unable to act, Senate is to select another Supreme Court justice to preside | "High crimes, misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office" | Impeached judicial officers are suspended from their office until the judgement of the trial with temporary replacements to be appointed by governor and confirmed by the Senate | [77] |
| Vermont | House of Representatives (support of two-thirds needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
"Every officer of State, whether judicial or executive"; "state criminals" | Maladministration | [78][79] | ||
| Virginia | House of Delegates | Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
Governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, judges, members of the State Corporation Commission, and all officers appointed by the governor or elected by the General Assembly | "Offending against the Commonwealth by malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty, or other high crime or misdemeanor" | [80] | ||
| Washington | House of Representatives (support of majority of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Governor and other state and judicial officers, except judges and justices of courts not of record | Chief justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial impeachments) | "High crimes or misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office" | [81] | |
| West Virginia | House of Delegates | Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
Any "officer of the state" | President of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals | "Maladministration, corruption, incompetency, gross immorality, neglect of duty, or any high crime or misdemeanor" | [9] | |
| Wisconsin | State Assembly (support of majority of the membership needed) |
Senate (two-thirds vote needed to convict) |
"All civil officers" | For gubernatorial impeachments, lieutenant governor is prohibited from participating/presiding | "Corrupt conduct in office, crimes and misdemeanors" | Judicial officers are suspended from their office until judgement of the trial | [82] |
| Wyoming | House of Representatives (support of majority of the membership needed) |
Senate (support of two-thirds of the membership needed to convict) |
"Governor and other state and judicial officers except justices of the peace" | Chief justice of the Supreme Court (gubernatorial impeachments) | "High crimes and misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office" | [83] | |
| State/territory/fed. district | Body which impeaches | Body which holds trial/convicts | Offices subject to impeachment by state/territorial government | Presiding officer specifications for trials | Specified reasons for which officials can be impeached[1] | Notes | |
Officials impeached by state and territorial governments
There have been in excess of 140 impeachments of officials by state governments.
Offices that have been the subject of impeachments include:
- governors (22 impeachments –20 of state governors, 2 of territorial governors)[a]
- lieutenant governor (1 impeachment)
- attorneys general (7 impeachments)[b]
- state treasurers (8 impeachments)[c]
- state auditors (5 impeachments)[d]
- secretaries of state (4 impeachment)
- state insurance commissioners (4 impeachments)
- judges and justices (63 impeachments)[e]
- county sheriffs (5 impeachments)
- justices of the peace (2 impeachments)
- surveyors (2 impeachments)
- commissioner of public lands (1 impeachment)
| Date | State | Accused | Office | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 8, 1780[86] | Pennsylvania |  |
Francis Hopkinson | judge of the Court of Admiralty | Not removed (acquitted on December 26, 1780)[86] |
| June 17, 1790[87] | New Hampshire | .jpg) |
Woodbury Langdon | justice of the Superior Court | Resigned[87] |
| 1791[88][89] | Georgia | Henry Osborne | judge of the Superior Court | Removed[90] | |
| 1791[91] | South Carolina | William Davis | collector of taxes | Resigned (in 1793)[91] | |
| 1792[91] | South Carolina | Alexander Moultrie | attorney general | Removed (found guilty in 1893),[91] disqualified from holding office for 7 years[92] | |
| April 5, 1793[93] | Pennsylvania | John Nicholson | comptroller general | Not removed (acquitted in April 22, 1794)[93][86] | |
| December 17, 1798[94] | Tennessee | David Campbell | judge of the Superior Court | Not removed (acquitted)[94] | |
| October 1799[78] | Vermont | William Coley | high sheriff of Bennington County | Not removed; the General Assembly acted beyond its authority and ruled that the impeachment invalid; and no trial was subsequently held before the Governor and Council.[78] | |
| 1800[95] | Vermont |  |
John Chipman | sheriff of Addison County | Not removed; while impeachment orders were brought by the Council of Censors, the General Assembly resolved not to prosecute the impeachment[95] |
| Prince Hall | sheriff of Franklin County | ||||
| 1802[96] | Pennsylvania | Alexander Addison | District judge | Removed in January 1803[97] | |
| 1803[36] | Kentucky | Thomas Jones | surveyor of Bourbon County | Resigned during trial; trial was continued and Jones was convicted and disqualified from holding office[36] | |
| September 28, 1803[94] | Tennessee | David Campbell | justice of the Superior Court | Not removed (acquitted on October 6, 1803)[94] | |
| March 23, 1804[98] | Pennsylvania | .png) |
Thomas Smith | associate justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (acquitted on January 28, 1805)[99][100] |
 |
Edward Shippen IV | chief justice of the Supreme Court | |||
| Jasper Yeates | associate justice of the Supreme Court | ||||
| February 22, 1805[101] | Ohio |  |
William W. Irvin | associate judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Fairfield County | Removed on January 11, 1806[101] |
| 1806[91] | South Carolina | Daniel D'Oyley | treasurer of the Lower Division | Removed (found guilty in 1807),[91] disqualified from holding office for 5 years[92] | |
| September 3, 1806[94] | Tennessee | John Philips | justice of the peace for Robertson County | Not removed (acquitted on October 24, 1807)[94] | |
| September 3, 1806[94] | Tennessee | Isaac Philips | justice of the peace for Robertson County | Removed on October 24, 1807 and disqualified from holding state office for a period of two years[94] | |
| 1807[102] | Pennsylvania |  |
Thomas McKean | governor | Not removed; no trial held and the impeachment was abandoned[103] |
| December 24, 1808[104] | Ohio |  |
Calvin Pease | judge of the Third Circuit Court | Not removed (acquitted in February 1809)[104] |
| December 24, 1808[104] | Ohio | .jpg) |
George Tod | associate justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (acquitted on January 20, 1809)[104] |
| December 7, 1810[91] | South Carolina | John Clark | sheriff for Laurens District | convicted[f] (on December 12, 1812) and disqualified for 4 years from holding state office[91][92] | |
| December 14, 1810[91] | South Carolina | William Hassell Gibbes | master in equity for Charleston | not removed (acquitted on December 16, 1811)[91] | |
| November 7, 1811[94] | Tennessee |  |
William Cocke | judge of the First Circuit Court of Tennessee | Removed on October 10, 1812[94] |
| December 6, 1813[91] | South Carolina | Matthew O'Driscoll | ordinary, clerk of court, and register for Colleton District | Removed from office (held guilty on December 21, 1813)[91] | |
| March 1817[105] | Pennsylvania | Thomas Clark | associate judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County | Not removed (acquitted on March 18, 1817)[105] | |
 |
Walter Franklin | president judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County | Not removed (acquitted on March 18, 1817)[105] | ||
| Jacob Hibshman | associate judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County | Not removed (acquitted on March 18, 1817)[105] | |||
| November 3, 1821[94] | Tennessee | Samuel H. Williams | surveyor general of the Seventh District | Removed on August 10, 1822[94] | |
| April 9, 1825[106] | Pennsylvania | |
Walter Franklin | president judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the Second Judicial District (Lancaster and York counties) | Not removed (acquitted on April 7, 1825)[107][108] |
| April 11, 1825[98] | Pennsylvania | Seth Chapman | judge of the Eighth Judicial District | Not removed (acquitted on February 18, 1826)[98] | |
| Robert Porter | president judge of the Third Judicial District | Not removed (acquitted on December 31, 1825)[98] | |||
| October 27, 1829[94] | Tennessee | Nathaniel W. Williams | judge of Circuit Court | Removed on December 22, 1829[94] | |
| December 24, 1829[94] | Tennessee | Joshua Haskell | judge of the Eighth Circuit Court | Not removed (acquitted on November 30, 1831)[94] | |
| 1832 | Illinois |  |
Theophilus W. Smith | associate justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (acquitted)[109] |
| 1853[110] | Wisconsin |  |
Levi Hubbell | judge of the Second Judicial Circuit | Not removed (acquitted)[110] |
| 1853[111] | New York | John C. Mather | member of the Canal Commission | Not removed (acquitted)[112] | |
| February 9, 1857[113] | California | Henry Bates | state treasurer | Found guilty in impeachment trial on March 11, 1857, resigned before this sentence was formally entered. Was convicted and disqualified from holding state office.[113] | |
| February 26, 1862 | Kansas |  |
Charles L. Robinson | governor | Not removed (acquitted)[114] |
| John Winter Robinson | secretary of state | Removed on June 12, 1862[115] | |||
| George S. Hillyer | state auditor | Removed on June 16, 1862[115] | |||
| March 26, 1862[116] | California | James H. Hardy | district judge for the Sixteenth Judicial District | Removed (convicted)[117] | |
| 1865 | New York | George W. Smith | judge in Oneida County | Not removed (acquitted)[110] | |
| February 11, 1867[94] | Tennessee | Thomas N. Frazier | judge | Removed and disqualified from holding state office[94] | |
| 1868 | New York | Robert C. Dorn | member of the Canal Commission | not removed (acquitted on June 13, 1868)[118] | |
| 1868[119] | Florida |  |
Harrison Reed | governor | Originally removed; removal overturned by Florida Supreme Court[120] |
| 1870[121] | Florida | James T. Magbee | judge of the Sixth Circuit Court | not removed; impeachment proceedings abandoned without a verdict.[114] | |
| December 14, 1870[122] | North Carolina |  |
William Woods Holden | governor | Removed on March 22, 1871[123] |
| 1871 | Nebraska |  |
David Butler | governor | Removed[114] |
| March 30, 1871 | Texas | William H. Russell | judge of the Fifteenth Judicial District | Not removed[124] | |
| December 1, 1871 | Texas | J. W. Oliver | judge of the Thirty-third Judicial District | Not removed; the Texas House voted to impeach, but did not submit articles of impeachment to the Texas Senate. No trial was held.[125] | |
| 1871 | Arkansas | .jpg) |
Powell Clayton | governor | Not removed; trial never held[126] |
| 1871 | New York | Horace G. Prindle | judge and surrogate of Chenango County | Not removed (acquitted)[110] | |
| February 1872 | Florida | |
Harrison Reed | governor | Not removed[127] |
| March 1872 | New York | _(14592180978).jpg) |
George G. Barnard | judge of the Supreme Court (1st District) | Removed |
| March 22, 1872[128] | Michigan | Charles A. Edmonds | commissioner of the Michigan Land Office | Not removed (acquitted in May 1872)[129][130] | |
| 1872 | Louisiana |  |
Henry C. Warmoth | governor | "Suspended from office" for remainder of term, trial was never held[131] |
| 1872 | New York | .jpg) |
John H. McCunn | justice of the Superior Court of the City of New York | Removed[110] |
| 1873[132] | Arkansas |  |
John McClure | Chief justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (acquitted)[132] |
| March 1873[133] | Minnesota | William Seeger[133] | state treasurer | Resigned; was tried and convicted thereafter[134] | |
| April 1873 | Texas | John G. Scott | judge of the Tenth Judicial District | Not Removed; Senate court of impeachment adjourned on February 5, 1874 without having reached a verdict.[135] | |
| 1873 | Texas | William M. Chambers | judge of the First Judicial District | Not removed (acquitted)[136] | |
| March 2, 1874[9] | Kansas | Josiah Hayes | state treasurer | resigned on May 12, 1874; impeachment proceedings abandoned thereafter[9] | |
| 1874 | New York | .png) |
George M. Curtis | justice of the Marine Court of the City of New York | not removed (acquitted)[110] |
| 1875[137] | West Virginia | John Burdette | state treasurer | removed (found guilty)[137] | |
| January 1876[138] | Mississippi | _(3x4a).jpg) |
Adelbert Ames | governor | resigned; impeachment proceedings thereafter dropped[114][138] |
| January 1876[138] | Mississippi |  |
Alexander Kelso Davis | lieutenant governor | removed (found guilty in March 1876)[138][139] |
| February 17, 1876[140][141] | Mississippi |  |
Thomas Cardozo | state superintendent of education | resigned on March 22, 1876; impeachment proceedings thereafter dismissed[140] |
| February 28, 1876[142] | Louisiana | .jpg) |
William Pitt Kellogg | governor | not removed (acquitted)[142][143] |
| 1878[144] | Minnesota | Sherman Page | judge of the Tenth Judicial District | not removed (acquitted)[144] | |
| 1881[145] | Minnesota | .jpg) |
Eugene Saint Julien Cox | judge of the Ninth Judicial District | Removed in March 1882[145] |
| April 9, 1886[146] | Iowa | John L. Brown | auditor of state | Not removed (acquitted on July 13, 1886)[147] | |
| 1887 | Texas | Frank Willis | judge of the Thirty-First Judicial District | Not Removed (acquitted)[148][149] | |
| 1888[36] | Kentucky |  |
James W. Tate | state treasurer | Removed[36] |
| February 27, 1891[9] | Kansas | Theodosius Betkin | judge of the Thirty-Second Judicial District | Not removed, acquitted[9] | |
| April 1893 | Nebraska | John E. Hill | former State Treasurer | proceedings abandoned after court ruled[g] impeachment invalid[85][150] | |
| Thomas H. Benton | former Auditor of Public Accounts | ||||
| 1893 | Nebraska | William Leese | former Attorney General | proceedings abandoned after court ruled[h] impeachment invalid[85][151] | |
| 1893 | Texas | William L. McGaughey | Commissioner of the General Land Office | Not Removed (acquitted on May 5, 1893)[152] | |
| 1901 | North Carolina |  |
David M. Furches | chief justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (acquitted)[153] |
.png) |
Robert M. Douglas | associate justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (acquitted)[153] | ||
| January 24, 1903[154][155] | Montana | Edward W. Harney | judge of the Second Judicial District of Silver Bow County | not removed[156] | |
| June 25, 1909[157] | Washington |  |
J. H. Schively | state insurance commissioner | Not removed (acquitted August 26, 1909)[157] |
| June 25, 1909[157] | Kentucky | J. E. Williams | McCreary County judge | Not removed (acquitted)[36] | |
| 1911[110] | North Dakota |  |
John F. Cowan | judge of the Second Judicial District of North Dakota | Not removed (acquitted)[110] |
| 1913 | Oklahoma | _(1).png) |
Giles W. Farris | state printer | Removed (found guilty on February 26, 1913)[158] |
| 1913 | Oklahoma | .png) |
P. A. Ballard | state insurance commissioner | Resigned on April 29, 1913[159] |
| August 13, 1913[160] | New York |  |
William Sulzer | governor | Removed on October 17, 1913[161] |
| 1915 | Oklahoma | .png) |
A. P. Watson | member of the Corporation Commission | Removed (found guilty on April 23, 1915)[159] |
| July 1917 | Texas | .jpg) |
James E. Ferguson | governor | Resigned. Convicted and disqualified from holding office after resigning[162][163] |
| 1918[164] | Montana | Charles L. Crum | judge of the Fifteenth Judicial District | Removed (found guilty on March 22, 1918,[156][165] had earlier offered his resignation on March 19, 1918[156]); was posthumously "exonerated from wrongful impeachment" by a vote of the Montana Senate in 1991[156] | |
| October 23, 1923[84] | Oklahoma |  |
John C. Walton | governor | Removed (found guilty on 11 of the articles of impeachment on November 21, 1932; had already been suspended pending the outcome)[84] |
| 1927[137] | West Virginia | John C. Bond | state auditor | Resigned on March 15, 1927, no trial held[166] | |
| 1927 | Montana | T. C. Stewart | secretary of state | Removed[165] | |
| December 12, 1927 [i] | Oklahoma |  |
Henry S. Johnston | governor | not removed (validity of impeachment vote challenged in courts;[169] on December 29, Senate deemed impeachment void)[170] |
| Fred P. Branson | chief justice of the Supreme Court | not removed (on December 29, Senate deemed the impeachment void)[171] | |||
| Harry Cordell | commissioner of agriculture | not removed (validity of impeachment vote challenged in courts;[169] on December 29, Senate deemed void)[171] | |||
| 1928 | Massachusetts |  |
Arthur Kenneth Reading | attorney general | Resigned[172] |
| January 21, 1929[173] | Oklahoma | |
Henry S. Johnston | governor | Removed (held guilty on March 20, 1929)[173] |
| March 23, 1929[174] | Oklahoma | Charles W. Mason | chief justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (acquitted)[175] | |
| March 1929 | Oklahoma | James Waddey Clark | associate justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (acquitted on May 11, 1929)[176] | |
| March 1929 | Oklahoma | Fletcher Riley | associate justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (articles of impeachment dismissed by senate)[175] | |
| 1929[110] | California | Carlos S. Hardy | data-sort-value=judge--xx |judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County | Not removed (acquitted April 26, 1929)[177] | |
| April 6, 1929[178] | Louisiana |  |
Huey Long | governor | Not removed |
| March 17, 1931[9] | Missouri | Larry Brunk | state treasurer | Not removed, acquitted[9] | |
| 1931 | Texas | J. B. Price | judge of the Twenty-First Judicial District | Not Removed[179] | |
| 1933[9] | Kansas | Roland Boynton | attorney general | Not removed, acquitted[9] | |
| Will J. French | state auditor | Not removed, acquitted[9] | |||
| 1935[129] | North Dakota | .jpg) |
Thomas H. Moodie | governor | Impeachment proceedings halted after North Dakota Supreme Court took a case challenging Moodie's qualification to hold office. Court ultimately removed Moodie as unqualified for office[129] |
| 1935[180] | Colorado | James H. Carr | secretary of state | Resigned (trial never held)[j] | |
| May 1939[180] | Colorado | Herman Getty | civil service commissioner | Not removed (acquitted)[180] | |
| Clara Wilkins | civil service commissioner | Not removed (acquitted)[180] | |||
| June 13, 1941 | Massachusetts | .jpeg) |
Daniel H. Coakley | member of the Governors Council | Removed on October 2, 1941 |
| 1943[110] | Michigan | Michael E. Nolan | Probate judge of Gogebic County | Removed[110] | |
| 1957[129] | Florida | George Holt | judge of the circuit court | Not removed (acquitted)[129][181] | |
| May 1958[182] | Tennessee | Raulston Schoolfield | judge of the criminal court of Hamilton County | Removed on July 11, 1958[183] | |
| 1963[184] | Florida |  |
Richard Kelly | judge of circuit court | Not removed (acquitted)[184] |
| 1965[185] | Oklahoma | Napoleon B. Johnson | justice of the Supreme Court | Removed (found guilty)[185] | |
| 1975[186] | Texas | O.P. Carillo | district judge of Duval County | Removed[187] | |
| 1975[184] | Florida | Thomas D. O'Malley | state insurance commissioner | Resigned,[188] articles of impeachment thereafter dismissed[184] | |
| 1976[189] | Vermont | Mike Mayo | sheriff of Washington County, Vermont | Not removed, acquitted in impeachment trial[189] | |
| March 14, 1984[190] | Nebraska | .png) |
Paul L. Douglas | attorney general | Not removed (acquitted by the Nebraska Supreme Court on May 4, 1984)[191] |
| February 6, 1988[192] | Arizona | .jpg) |
Evan Mecham | governor | Removed on April 4, 1988[193] |
| March 30, 1989[194] | West Virginia |  |
A. James Manchin | state treasurer | Resigned on July 9, 1989, before trial started[195] |
| January 25, 1991[196] | Kentucky | Ward "Butch" Burnette | commissioner of agriculture | Resigned on February 6, 1991, before trial started. Afterwards, the Senate and then House adopted resolutions to terminate the impeachment proceedings.[36][197] | |
| May 24, 1994[198] | Pennsylvania | Rolf Larsen | associate justice of the Supreme Court | Removed on October 4, 1994, and declared ineligible to hold public office in Pennsylvania[199] | |
| October 6, 1994[200] | Missouri |  |
Judith Moriarty | secretary of state | Removed by the Missouri Supreme Court on December 12, 1994[201] |
| July 12, 2000[202] | New Hampshire | David Brock | chief justice of the Supreme Court | Not removed (acquitted on October 11, 2000)[203] | |
| September 9, 2004[204] | Oklahoma | Carroll Fisher | state insurance commissioner | Resigned on September 24, 2004[205] | |
| November 11, 2004[206] | Nevada | Kathy Augustine | State Controller | Not removed; censured on December 4, 2004[207] | |
| April 11, 2006[208] | Nebraska | David Hergert | Member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents | Removed by the Nebraska Supreme Court on July 7, 2006[209] | |
| January 8, 2009 (first vote)[210] |
Illinois | _(cropped).jpg) |
Rod Blagojevich | governor | Not removed, 95th General Assembly ended before a trial could be held, and the 96th General Assembly opted to hold a new impeachment vote[k] |
| January 14, 2009 (second vote)[212] |
Removed on January 29, 2009, and declared ineligible to hold public office in Illinois[213] | ||||
| February 11, 2013[214] | Northern Mariana Islands |  |
Benigno Fitial | governor | Resigned on February 20, 2013[215] |
| August 13, 2018[216] | West Virginia | Robin Davis | associate justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals | Retired on August 13, 2018.[217] | |
| Allen Loughry | Resigned on November 12, 2018.[218][219] | ||||
| Beth Walker | Not removed; reprimanded and censured on October 2, 2018[220] | ||||
| Margaret Workman | chief justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals | Retired on December 31, 2020.[221] | |||
| January 12, 2022[222] | Northern Mariana Islands | .jpg) |
Ralph Torres | governor | Not removed (acquitted May 18, 2022)[223] |
| April 12, 2022[224] | South Dakota |  |
Jason Ravnsborg | attorney general | Removed on June 21, 2022 and declared ineligible to hold office in South Dakota[225] |
| November 16, 2022[226] | Pennsylvania | .jpg) |
Larry Krasner | District attorney of Philadelphia | Not tried; State Senate voted on January 11, 2023 to indefinitely postpone the trial.[227] On September 26, 2024, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the articles of impeachment against Krasner had expired when the 2021-2022 legislative session expired.[228] |
| May 27, 2023[229] | Texas |  |
Ken Paxton | attorney general | Not removed (acquitted September 16, 2023); was suspended while awaiting verdict |
Gubernatorial impeachment
Impeachment and removal of governors has happened occasionally throughout the history of the United States, usually for corruption charges. At least eleven U.S. state governors have faced an impeachment trial; a twelfth, Governor Lee Cruce of Oklahoma, escaped impeachment by one vote in 1912. Several others, including Missouri's Eric Greitens in 2018, have resigned rather than face impeachment, when events seemed to make it inevitable.[230] The most recent impeachment of a state governor occurred on January 14, 2009, when the Illinois House of Representatives voted 117–1 to impeach Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges;[231] he was subsequently removed from office and barred from holding future office by the Illinois Senate on January 29.
There have been twenty-one impeachments of state governors (with one state governor having been thrice impeached, and two state governors having been twice impeached):
- Charles L. Robinson (Republican governor of Kansas) in 1862
- Harrison Reed (Republican governor of Florida)
- In 1868 —originally removed; removal overturned by Florida Supreme Court
- In 1872
- William Woods Holden (Republican governor of North Carolina) in 1870 —removed in 1871
- Powell Clayton (Republican governor of Arkansas) in 1871
- David Butler (Republican governor of Nebraska) in 1871 —removed
- Henry Warmoth (Republican governor of Louisiana) in 1872
- William Pitt Kellogg (Republican governor of Louisiana) in 1876
- Adelbert Ames (Republican governor of Mississippi) in 1876
- William Sulzer (Democratic governor of New York) in 1913 (impeached for false report, perjury, and suborning perjury)[232][233] —removed
- James E. Ferguson (Democratic governor of Texas) in 1917 –convicted after first having resigned
- Jack C. Walton (Democratic governor of Oklahoma) in 1923 (impeached for a variety of crimes including illegal collection of campaign funds, padding the public payroll, suspension of habeas corpus, excessive use of the pardon power, and general incompetence. In November 1923, Walton was convicted and removed from office)[234] —removed
- Henry S. Johnston (Democratic governor of Oklahoma) impeached thrice (in 1927 and 1929) -removed (2nd impeachment)
- Huey Long (Democratic governor of Louisiana) in 1929
- Thomas H. Moodie (Democratic[235] governor of North Dakota) in 1935[129]
- Evan Mecham (Republican governor of Arizona) in 1988 (impeached for obstruction of justice and misusing government funds)[236] —removed
- Rod Blagojevich (Democratic governor of Illinois) impeached twice in 2009 (impeached for abuse of power and corruption, including an attempt to sell the appointment to the United States Senate seat vacated by the resignation of Barack Obama)[237] —removed (2nd impeachment)
In addition to the aforementioned state governors, two governors of the Northern Mariana Islands territory have been impeached: Republican Benigno Fitial in 2013[214][238] (who resigned)[215] and Republican Ralph Torres in 2022[239] (who was acquitted).[223]
The National Conference of State Legislatures has observed that gubernatorial impeachment occurs relatively infrequently[6] and has cited two factors it believed to be partially responsible for this:
Notes
- For governors who were subject to multiple impeachments, these totals count each instance of impeachment as separate. These totals also count both impeachments of Oklahoma governor Henry S. Johnston, the first of which was judged by the Oklahoma Senate to be void due to state court decisions holding that the House had not properly convened when it voted to impeach[84]
- Includes the impeachment of Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred P. Branson in 1927, which was judged by the Oklahoma Senate to be void due to state court decisions holding that the House had not properly convened when it voted to impeach[84]
- Blagojevich's first impeachment vote was held as one of the last actions of a lame duck session of the House of the 95th Illinois Assembly. It was out of precaution that this resolution was not acted upon by the Senate of the 96th Illinois Assembly. There was belief that Blagojevich might, as a last-ditch legal argument to challenge removal, attempt to argue that (similar to partially-adopted legislation) an impeachment resolution that had not yet been tried by the senate would be rendered void at the expiration of the Assembly term. To preclude Blagojevich's ability to attempt this hypothetical legal challenge, the newly-seated House of the 96th assembly instead passed a new resolution (containing a single article of impeachment with thirteen subparts) for the Senate to instead try Blagojevich upon.[211]