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 criminal psychologist Kent Kiehl diagnosed Guiteau as a psychopath, giving him a score of 37.5 out of 40 on the PCL-R scale. The life of Guiteau, focusing on his psychological disturbances and his plan to kill Garfield, is the subject of "Portrait of an Assassin", a radio play by James Agate Jr. The play was produced as Episode 1125 of CBS Radio Mystery Theater and was first broadcast on October 8, 1980. Guiteau is depicted in Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's musical "Assassins", wherein he mentors Sara Jane Moore, a woman who attempted to assassinate Gerald Ford. Guiteau sings parts