David Brearley | |
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| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of New Jersey | |
| In office September 26, 1789 – August 16, 1790 | |
| Appointed by | George Washington |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 1 Stat. 73 |
| Succeeded by | Robert Morris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Brearley Jr. (1745-06-11)June 11, 1745 Spring Grove, Maidenhead (nowLawrence Township),Hunterdon County, Province of New Jersey, British America |
| Died | August 16, 1790(1790-08-16) (aged 45) Trenton,New Jersey, U.S. |
| Resting place | St. Michael's Church Trenton,New Jersey |
| Education | Princeton University read law |
David Brearley Jr. (often misspelled asBrearly) (June 11, 1745 – August 16, 1790) was an AmericanFounding Father, Chief Justice of theSupreme Court of New Jersey, a delegate fromNew Jersey to theConstitutional Convention of 1787, which drafted theUnited States Constitution, a signer of the United States Constitution, and aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Born on June 11, 1745, to Mary and David Brearely Sr. (1703–1785) inLawrence Township, New Jersey,Province of New Jersey,British America,[1][2] Brearley attended the College of New Jersey (nowPrinceton University) andread law.[2] He was in private practice inAllentown, New Jersey[3] until 1776.[2]
Prior to the start of the American Revolution, Brearley was on one occasion arrested for his opposition to the rule of the British Parliament but was freed by a mob.[3] With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Brearley was at first a captain in theMonmouth Countymilitia after having spent many years speaking out against the Parliamentary absolutism.[4] He eventually rose to the rank of colonel in Nathaniel Heard's New Jersey militia brigade.[citation needed] From 1776 to 1779 he served in theNew Jersey Line of the Continental Army, seeing action atBrandywine,Germantown, andMonmouth.[citation needed]
Brearley was chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey from 1779 to 1789.[5] He decided on the famousHolmes v. Walton case where he ruled that the judiciary had the authority to declare whether laws were unconstitutional.[4]
While at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Brearley was Chairman of the Committee on Postponed Parts, which played a substantial role in shaping the final document.[6] The committee addressed questions related to the taxes, war-making, patents and copyrights, relations with Native American tribes, and Franklin's compromise to require money bills to originate in theHouse of Representatives. The biggest issue they addressed was the presidency, and the final compromise was written byJames Madison with the committee's input.[7] They adopted the earlier plan for choosing the president by theElectoral College and settled on the method of choosing the president if no candidate had an Electoral College majority, which many such as Madison thought would be "nineteen times out of twenty". The committee also shortened the president's term from seven years to four years, freed him to seek re-election, and moved impeachment trials from the courts to theSenate. They also created the vice president, whose only role was to succeed the president and preside over the Senate. This also transferred important powers from the Senate to the president, who was given the power (which had been given to the senate by Rutledge's committee) to make treaties and appoint ambassadors.[8] He ultimatelysigned the finished Constitution.
Brearley was nominated by PresidentGeorge Washington on September 25, 1789, to theUnited States District Court for the District of New Jersey, to a new seat authorized by 1 Stat. 73.[2] He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on September 25, 1789, and received his commission on September 26, 1789.[2] His service terminated on August 16, 1790, due to his death in Trenton.[2]
He is interred in the churchyard ofSaint Michael's Episcopal Church in Trenton,[9] and acenotaph was placed there in 1924.
At the close of the Revolutionary War, Brearley became one of the founding members of theSociety of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey and served as the state society's vice president from 1783 until his death in 1790.[10] In 1789, he was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society.[11]
David Brearley High School inKenilworth, New Jersey was named in his honor.[12] Brearly Street inMadison, Wisconsin, is named in his honor.[13] Brearley Crescent inWaldwick, New Jersey, is named in his honor.[citation needed] Brearley Lodge No.2 Masonic Lodge inBridgeton, New Jersey, is named in his honor.[citation needed]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by Seat established by 1 Stat. 73 | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of New Jersey 1789–1790 | Succeeded by |