Walter Smith Cox was a professor of law at what was then called Columbian University, known today as The George Washington University, in Washington, D.C.. On February 26, 1879, Cox was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia created by 20 Stat. 320. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 1, 1879, and received his commission the same day. During his service, he presided over the trial of Charles J. Guiteau, the assassin of President James A. Garfield. Cox retired from the federal bench on July
Charles J. Guiteau nomination. Ultimately, Guiteau changed little more than the title and any mention of Grant in the speech itself. The speech was delivered at most twice, and printed copies were passed out to members of the Republican National Committee at their summer 1880 meeting in New York, but Guiteau believed himself to be largely responsible for Garfield's victory. He insisted he should be awarded a consulship for his supposedly vital assistance, first asking for Vienna, then deciding that he would rather have the one in Paris. Guiteau's personal requests to Garfield and his cabinet as one of many job seekers who