Editing Thomas Johnson (judge) (section)

== Federal years ==
In September 1789, [[Presidency of George Washington|President George Washington]] nominated Johnson to be the first [[United States federal judge|federal judge]] for the District of Maryland, but he declined the appointment. In 1790 and 1791, Johnson was the senior justice in the Maryland General Court system. In January 1791, President Washington appointed Johnson, with [[David Stuart (Virginia politician)|David Stuart]] and [[Daniel Carroll]], to the commission that would lay out the federal capital in accordance with the [[Residence Act]] of 1790. In September 1791 the commissioners named the federal city "The City of Washington" and the federal district "The Territory of [[Columbia (name)|Columbia]]".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q81AAAAIAAJ Crew, Harvey W., Webb, William Bensing, Wooldridge, John (1892), ''Centennial History of the City of Washington, D.C.'', United Brethren Publishing House, Dayton, Ohio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506134020/https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q81AAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPR1,M1 |date=2016-05-06 }}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q81AAAAIAAJ Chapter IV. "Permanent Capital Site Selected", pp. 87–88, 101] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506134020/https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q81AAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA87,M1 |date=2016-05-06 }} ''in'' [https://books.google.com/books Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103122323/https://books.google.com/books |date=2016-01-03 }}</ref>

On August 5, 1791, Johnson received a [[recess appointment]] from Washington as an [[associate justice of the United States Supreme Court|Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court]], to the seat vacated by [[John Rutledge]],<ref name=FJCTJohnson>{{cite web| title=Johnson, Thomas| url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/johnson-thomas| publisher=Federal Judicial Center| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 14, 2022}}</ref> and was [[Oath of office#Federal judiciary oaths|sworn into office]] on September 19, 1791.<ref name=SCOTUSjustices/> Formally [[Nomination and confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States|nominated]] to the position on October 31, 1791, his appointment was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on November 7, 1791.<ref name=FJCTJohnson/> Johnson was the author of the Court's first written opinion, ''[[Georgia v. Brailsford (1792)|Georgia v. Brailsford]]'', in 1792. He served on the court until resigning on January 16, 1793,<ref name=FJCTJohnson/> citing his poor health.<ref name=newspost/>

Johnson suffered very poor health for many years, and cited it in declining Washington's 1795 offer to nominate him for [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], as [[Thomas Jefferson]] had recommended. He managed to deliver a eulogy for his friend George Washington at a birthday memorial service on February 22, 1800. On February 28, 1801, President [[John Adams]] named Johnson Chief Judge for the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|District of Columbia]]; he was confirmed for the post, but declined the appointment.<ref name=FJCTJohnson/>