Lawyer. Born in Bladensburg, Maryland, to a Swiss father and German mother. He was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1792. He came to public notice as prosecutor in the treason trial of Aaron Burr in 1807. He was appointed US Attorney General in 1817, a post he held until 1829. He stood unsuccessfully for the US  presidency in 1832 on behalf of the newly-formed small anti-Masonic party.