Charles Lee

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Charles Lee

Charles Lee (* 1758 in Westmoreland County , Colony Virginia , † June 24, 1815 in Fauquier County , Virginia ) was an American lawyer , politician and Attorney General .

Family, studies and professional career

Lee comes from one of Virginia's most influential planter families. Like his father Henry Lee, his older brother Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee was a general and later governor of Virginia . Another brother, Richard Bland Lee , was a member of the House of Representatives . The brothers were also third cousins ​​of future President Zachary Taylor . His first marriage was to his cousin Anne, the daughter of the sixth president of the Continental Congress , Richard Henry Lee .

Lee first completed a general education course at the College of New Jersey , which he finished in 1775 with a Bachelor of Arts . He then studied law in the office of the 1812 unsuccessful candidate for the vice-presidency , Jared Ingersoll , which he finished in 1780. Between 1777 and 1787, however, he was mainly active as a naval officer on the Potomac River .

As an attorney, he was an early advocate for the return of the southern part of the District of Columbia to Virginia, which was not completed until 1847.

Attorney General under President Washington and later offices

From 1789 to 1793 he was harbor master of Alexandria at the request of George Washington . The following year he became a member of the Virginia House of Representatives , to which he was a member until 1795.

After the death of William Bradford on August 23, 1795, US President Washington appointed him as Attorney General in his cabinet on December 10, 1795 . He also held this office under Washington's successor John Adams until the end of his term on February 19, 1801.

After resigning as Minister of Justice, he worked as a judge at a district court for a year before he settled down as a lawyer. As a lawyer, he has represented parties in proceedings before the US Supreme Court. The decision of the United States Supreme Court of February 24, 1803 in the Marbury v. Madison is of paramount importance in American case law . With this decision, the Supreme Court established the right to review federal laws for their constitutionality and to declare them null and void ( Judicial Review ). In the United States v. Burr he defended former Vice President Aaron Burr before the Supreme Court. In 1807 Burr was charged with treason in connection with an attempt to create an independent state in the Spanish part of North America . However, due to lack of evidence, Burr was released.

He later became the Port Officer of the Potomac River District after rejecting President Thomas Jefferson's offer to serve as a judge on the United States Supreme Court .

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personal data
SURNAME Lee, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and attorney general
DATE OF BIRTH 1758
PLACE OF BIRTH Westmoreland County , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 1815
Place of death Fauquier County , Virginia