807 Page – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

Here is the translated text as follows:

Thomas Cooper drifted into metaphysics, and from metaphysics, he transitioned to politics. In politics, he became so unpopular in England that he emigrated to the United States. Here, he began practicing law. Despite being an earnest Republican, a scholar, and a man of unquestionable ability, his clients were few. Consequently, he found himself needing to seek a government position. In 1797, the office of agent for American claims under the English treaty became vacant. His friend, Dr.

Previously, he had been accused of various judicial misconducts. These included committing constables who refused to serve them, insisting on examining a prisoner charged with a crime under oath about his own guilt, and sending private notes to juries in criminal cases to extract a guilty verdict. He was also accused of sending a Luzerne convict to the Philadelphia prison, which was not provided for at the time. This resulted in the convict being kept in abeyance by the Philadelphia jailer, who refused to receive him, and the court, which refused to take him back. This new ambulatory commitment withdrew the sheriff from his public duties. Additionally, he was accused of browbeating counsel, witnesses, and parties in numerous cases, enough to cover three pages of recapitulation.

He was charged with declaring in open court that the Presbyterian and Quaker professions were "all damned hypocrisy and nonsense." Various specifications were given of his illegal interference in the profits of cases before him and of private speculations in interests that were to pass under his adjudication. On February 21, 1811, these charges were formally laid before the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and referred to a committee. Two days later, the committee reported that the evidence sufficiently substantiated the specifications of his passionate and oppressive judicial bearing. However, the accusation of peculation lacked a solid basis, except for an imprudent purchase of certain property sold at a sheriff's sale under court process. Although clear from any moral stain, the committee considered this transaction of doubtful propriety and a dangerous precedent. They concluded by submitting a resolution that a committee be appointed to draft an address to the Governor for the removal of Thomas Cooper, Esq., from the office of President Judge of the eighth judicial district of Pennsylvania. The Governor subsequently removed him.

Mr. Cooper's fine chemical expertise, which had never been submerged during the storms of his eventful life, now provided him with a safe retreat. He was first appointed to a philosophical professorship at Dickinson College and later to a highly honorable position at the University of Pennsylvania. He eventually abandoned this role for the chemical chair at Columbia College, South Carolina, where he soon became president. During the nullification struggle, he took a bold part, issuing documents advocating the most ultra States' rights.

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