Lawyer-Presidents in the Spotlight

It has only been a few short years since David McCullough’s 1776 and my self-diagnosed, obsessive-compulsive disorder crossed paths. Enthralled with fresh insights into our country’s beginnings, I have since embarked on a journey to read each presidential biography from George Washington to Barack Obama.

I had never been much of a history buff, but McCullough made me realize that there is much about our American presidents that I had not been taught in all my years of schooling. My current readings have only reinforced this realization.

Take for example John Tyler, our 10th president. To demonstrate the naval power of the United States to the world, he set out to build the Navy’s first screw-steamship, which would house the largest cannon ever placed on a sea vessel. Eager to unveil it to his fellow compatriots, he hosted a dinner party with Washington’s elite, at which the magnificent cannon would be fired for the first time. Unfortunately, the cannon backfired, killing several of the people on the ship, including Tyler’s Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Navy.

Many former presidents have one thing in common: They were also former lawyers. In fact, 26 of our presidents worked as lawyers before being elected to the Oval Office. And, as lawyers, they too, like many today, had their share of litigation headaches and foibles. So here, in no particular order, is a list of truly fascinating, yet recognizably useless facts and tidbits.

• John Adams, known as one of the most radical founding fathers, believed that being an American meant supporting the right to trial and representation. He believed in this so much that he served as the defense attorney for the British troops responsible for the Boston Massacre, despite threats, ridicule and his contempt for the British.
• James Madison spent the bulk of his early lawyering days defending Baptist preachers for preaching without a license. At the time, preachers were required to have a license from the Anglican Church.
• During one trial, a young Andrew Jackson, known for his quick temper, challenged his opposing counsel, Avery, to a duel after Avery resorted to sarcasm to rebut Jackson’s argument. The challenge is documented in one of the earliest known letters written by Jackson. (Grammar and punctuation errors maintained for authenticity.)

Agust12th 1788
Sir: When a man’s feelings and charector are injured he ought to seek a speedy redress; you recd. a few lines from me yesterday and undoubtedly you understand me. My charector you have injured; and further you have Insulted me in the presence of a court and larg audianc. I therefore call upon you as a gentleman to give me satisfaction for the Same; and I further call upon you to give Me an answer immediately without Equivocation and I hope you can do without dinner untill the business done; for it is consistent with the character of a gentleman when he Injures a man to make a spedy reparation; therefore I hope you will not fail in meeting me this day from yr obt st.
Andw. Jackson
P.S. This Evening after court adjourned¹

• Think you’ve had some wild celebrations after favorable verdicts? Think again. While celebrating a legal triumph at a local tavern, Andrew Jackson and his pals caused quite a stir. Robert Remini tells the story in his biography that Jackson “suddenly decided that the glasses used in their celebration should never be profaned by future use. So, with a flourish, they smashed them on the floor. And if the glasses, why not the table? Away went the table, shattered beyond repair. Next the chairs were demolished, then the bed. Finally, the curtains were torn and piled into a heap. To conclude the ceremonies, the entire mess was set ablaze.”²
• Most people in our industry claim the jury-consulting profession is only about 30 to 40 years old. However, it turns out our practices started much earlier. In the 1830s, to make himself a better lawyer, Martin Van Buren conducted what he called “mock trials” to hone his arguments.³
• Attorney’s fees are an issue of constant discussion. For those looking for some perspective, consider the fees collected by Abraham Lincoln. “For most of the cases Stuart & Lincoln handled, the fee was $5.00, and the ordinary range was from $2.50 to $10.00. In one case, the partners charged $50.00, a fee so high that the client apparently asked to pay some of it by making a coat for Stuart, worth $15.00.”⁴
• On January 17, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton became the first, and only, president to be deposed in civil litigation while holding the office. The now-infamous matter was Jones v. Clinton. During the deposition, President Clinton reinforced the lesson that even the most practiced public speakers can sometimes use some witness preparation. Later accounts of the deposition would describe Clinton as “an unsophisticated witness, revealing a desire to please the opposing lawyer, and telling prepared stories that suggested he had lots to hide.”⁵ Is that unsophisticated? Perhaps it’s all just a matter of what your definition of “is” is.

1 Remini, R.V. (1988). The Life of Andrew Jackson. Harper: New York, NY.

2 Id.

3 Widmer, T. (2005). Martin Van Buren. Times Books: New York.

4 Donald, D.H. (1995). Lincoln. Jonathan Cape: London.

5 Craig, M. (June, 1998). “He talked too much. Mr. Clinton was an ideal witness—for the other side.” The American Spectator.

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