Charles Merrill Hough
Charles Merrill Hough was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He was the son of brigadier general Alfred Lacey Hough and Mary Jane Merrill.
He married Ethel Powers in 1906. They bore two children: Helen Anastasia Hough and John Newbold Hough. Hough's most historically memorable judicial ruling came in 1908 when he quashed a libel suit brought by U.S. government for President Theodore Roosevelt against a newspaper critical of the way the administration handled Panama Canal startup. U.S. Supreme court upheld Hough’s ruling unanimously in 1911.Education and career
Born on May 18, 1858, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hough received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1879 from Dartmouth College and read law in 1883. He entered private practice in New York City, New York from 1884 to 1906.Federal judicial service
Hough was nominated by President Theodore Roosevelt on June 20, 1906, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, to a new seat authorized by 34 Stat. 202. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 27, 1906, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on September 5, 1916, due to his elevation to the Second Circuit.
Hough was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on August 15, 1916, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated by Judge Emile Henry Lacombe. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 21, 1916, and received his commission the same day. He was a member of the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges in 1926. His service terminated on April 22, 1927, due to his death in New York City.
