Philip Kissick Lawrence

Philip Kissick Lawrence ( 1793 – May 19, 1841) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

Education and career

Born in New York City, to Gilbert Lawrence and Margaret Kissick Lawrence, In 1834, his predecessor had appointed Duncan N. Hennen Clerk of Court, and Hennen, who by all accounts had performed satisfactorily, held the post upon Lawrence's appointment. On May 18, 1838, however, Lawrence wrote Hennen a letter firing him: "In taking this step," Lawrence wrote, "I desire to be understood as neither prompted by any unfriendly disposition towards you personally, nor wishing to cast the slightest shade of censure on your official conduct. On the contrary... a sense of justice to you demands that I should do what lies in my power to repel any unfavourable inference that might be drawn from your dismissal ... In appointing [John] Winthrop to succeed you, I have been purely actuated by a sense of duty and feelings of kindness towards one whom I have long known, and between whom and myself the closest friendship has always subsisted." Hennen sought reinstatement to his position by filing a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Supreme Court of the United States, but the Court refused to issue the writ, finding that the power both to appoint and to remove the Clerk of Court, even without cause, at that time was entirely within the judge's discretion, and that there was no constitutional or other legal obstacle to Lawrence's actions.

Hennen then petitioned the United States House of Representatives, requesting an investigation of Lawrence. A special committee of the House recommended on February 11, 1839, that Lawrence be impeached for his actions concerning the Clerk of Court. However, no action was taken by the full House.