David M. Furches Explained

David M. Furches
Birth Name:David Moffatt Furches
Birth Date:2 April 1832
Birth Place:Davie County, North Carolina, U.S.
Death Place:Statesville, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation:Jurist, politician
Education:Richmond Hill Law School
Party:Republican
Signature:Signature of David Moffatt Furches (1832–1908).png
Office1:Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
Term Start1:1901
Term End1:1903
Office2:Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
Term Start2:1895
Term End2:1901
Successor1:Walter Clark
Predecessor1:William T. Faircloth

David Moffatt Furches (April 2, 1832 – June 7, 1908) was an American politician and jurist who served as an associate justice (1895–1901) and chief justice (1901–1903) of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Biography

David M. Furches was born in Davie County, North Carolina in 1832.[1]

He read law under Chief Justice Richmond M. Pearson at the Richmond Hill Law School and served in the state constitutional convention in 1865, representing Davie County. Furches practiced law in Davie and later Iredell County, North Carolina and became a prominent member of the North Carolina Republican Party. In 1875, he was appointed a state superior court judge, a position he held until 1879. He lost two races for the United States House of Representatives, one in 1872 and the other in 1880, and was his party's nominee for Governor of North Carolina in 1892, losing to Elias Carr. In 1894, Furches was elected to the state Supreme Court. In 1900 the justices, by a vote of four to one, declared unconstitutional important legislation enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly of 1899-1900, which was controlled by Democrats.[2] When Chief Justice William T. Faircloth died in December 1900, fellow Republican Gov. Daniel L. Russell appointed Furches to the post.

He married twice, to Eliza Bingham and Lula Corpening.[1]

He died at his home in Statesville on June 7, 1908.[3]

Impeachment

On February 18, 1901, the North Carolina House of Representatives (again controlled by Democrats) impeached Furches and Associate Justice Robert M. Douglas (who was also a Republican). The charges involved an obscure case in which the justices ordered the North Carolina State Treasurer to pay the salary of the state Shell Fish Inspector (a Republican), against the wishes of the General Assembly.[4] [5] A two-thirds majority was required to remove the justices, and none of the five articles of impeachment attracted even a majority of the North Carolina Senate in his impeachment trial. Yes-no votes on the five articles were 23-27, 24-26, 24-26, 25-25 and 16-34.[6] Among the lawyers defending Furches in the impeachment proceedings was former Gov. Thomas J. Jarvis, a Democrat.[7]

Furches lost in his bid for election as chief justice in 1902. As of 1906, he was a member of the state Republican Party's executive committee.[8]

References

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ashe, Samuel A'Court . Biographical History of North Carolina from Colonial Times to the Present . I . Samuel A'Court Ashe . Charles L. Van Noppen . 287–291 . 1905 . 2020-08-05 . Google Books.
  2. Web site: NC Supreme Court History . 2008-06-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080321010321/http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/copyright/sc/facts.html . 2008-03-21 . dead .
  3. News: Funeral of Late Judge Furches . . Statesville, North Carolina . 1 . 1908-06-09 . 2020-08-05 . Newspapers.com.
  4. https://www.nytimes.com/1901/02/19/archives/to-impeach-southern-judges-north-carolina-house-votes-to-oust-the.html "To Impeach Southern Judges; North Carolina House Votes to Oust the Chief and Associate Justice from Office"
  5. http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/christensen/2002/story/318720.html "Rob Christensen: 1 ruling, 1 reprisal, 1 error"
  6. "The Judges Are Acquitted— The Vote 23 to 27 on the First Article of Impeachment", Raleigh (NC) Morning Post, March 29, 1901, p1
  7. http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/jarvislet/bio.html Thomas Jordan Jarvis biography
  8. http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/rep1906/rep1906.html Republican Hand-Book, 1906