("a proceeding whereby a person having no legitimate interest in a lawsuit abets it with money or services in the hope of profit") by "corruptly and unlawfully" receiving $4,500 from a former law partner, Albert L. Rankin. The House charged that Ritter had planned with Rankin and others to put Whitehall (the former Henry Morrison Flagler mansion and then a hotel, and now a museum) into receivership, and had given Rankin an "exorbitant fee" of $75,000, keeping $4,500 of it. Showing favoritism in bankruptcy cases. Two charges of practicing law while a judge. Two charges of tax evasion (by filed false income tax returns in 1929 and 1930) Bringing the judiciary into disrepute (accepting free meals and lodging at Whitehall during receivership proceedings). Ritter's chief defense attorney was Frank P. Walsh. Three House managers prosecuted the case, with Sam Hobbs of Alabama leading. On April 6, 1936, the United States Senate began his impeachment trial. Eleven days after the trial began, the Senate voted to acquit him of all but the last article (bringing the judiciary into disrepute), which he was convicted of 56–28, exactly the two-thirds necessary for conviction under the Constitution, the partisan balance of the United States Senate being approximately 72 Democrats to approximately 22 Republicans in the 74th United States Congress, and Ritter was removed from office on April 17, 1936. A motion to disqualify Ritter from all further federal office was defeated unanimously by the Senate. Legal challenge to conviction Ritter challenged the conviction in the federal Court of Claims on the grounds that the Senate could not convict him on a general charge of bringing the judiciary into disrepute if it was not able to convict him of a specific offense. The Court of Claims dismissed the case and held it did not have jurisdiction because the Senate was given the "sole power" to try impeachments under Clause 6, Section 3 of Article I of the United States Constitution. Later career and death After his removal from office, Ritter continued to practice law in Miami, Florida. He became ill while flying to the West Coast, and stopped in New Orleans, Louisiana. He subsequently traveled to Laurel, Mississippi to recover while staying with friends. He died on October 15, 1951, in Laurel. Personal Ritter's sister was Mary Ritter Beard, the wife of Charles A. Beard; both were noted historians. References Sources 1868 births 1951 deaths