Charles Lee Biography

World of Criminal Justice on Charles Lee

Charles Lee served as U.S. attorney general from 1795 to 1801. Lee's service was remarkable for the fact he served under two presidents, George Washington and John Adams. Lee, the descendent of a prominent Virginia family, also became involved in two famous cases after he left office.

Lee was born in Leesylvania, Virginia in 1758, the son of a wealthy planter family. He graduated from Princeton University in 1775 and immediately began a legal apprenticeship with a lawyer in Philadelphia. Admitted to the bar in 1780, Lee served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and a member of the Virginia Assembly. Following the War of Independence, he became the chief naval officer of the District of the Potomac.

President Washington appointed Lee U.S. attorney general in 1795. Lee, who was the third attorney general in six years, was reluctant to accept the appointment because at that time the office held no real power and there was no staff to support him in his work. Nevertheless, Lee accepted the appointment and continued his service when John Adams succeeded Washington in 1797.

Lee's tasks as attorney general were relatively mundane, mainly writing advisory opinions for the president, members of his cabinet, and Congress. Occasionally these opinions went beyond legal technicalities, as was the case when Lee advised President Adams that he could not bring a libel action against a newspaper for criticizing a foreign ambassador.

Lee's weak position was illustrated by another case. He was asked to advise the president on a controversial extradition request from the British government. A U.S. citizen was accused of murdering a person on a British ship and Britain asserted jurisdiction over the case. The citizen challenged extradition and Lee concluded that the alleged murderer should not be turned over because the extradition treaty between the two countries did not apply to crimes committed in international waters. Though Lee may have been legally correct, President Adams did not want to antagonize the British. He turned over the man over to the British.

After leaving office, Lee resumed the practice of law. In 1803 he represented William Marbury in the landmark case, Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137, 2 L.Ed. 60 (1803). President Adams appointed Marbury justice of the peace as Adams left office, yet the commission was not delivered to Marbury. Jefferson ordered secretary of state James Madison to withhold the commission so Jefferson could make his own appointment. Marbury filed suit, demanding that the court order Madison give him the commission. The Supreme Court rejected Marbury's request. It held that it had the authority to review the congressional law upon which the appointment was made. Based on this judicial review of the law, the Court concluded the provision was unconstitutional and therefore the commission to Marbury was void.

Lee also represented former vice president Aaron Burr in his 1807 treason trial. Burr, who had visited the Louisiana Territory the previous year, was accused by Jefferson and his supporters alleged that Burr intended to set up a separate government in the territory. Lee successfully defended Burr, who was acquitted of all the charges. Lee died June 24, 1815, in Fauquier County, Virginia.