Editing Francis Scott Key (section)

==Legal career==
[[File:Francis Scott Key law office Frederick MD1.jpg|thumb|left|Key law office on Court Street in Frederick, Maryland]]
Key was a leading attorney in Frederick, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., for many years, with an extensive real estate and trial practice. He and his family settled in [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown]] in 1805 or 1806, near the new national capital. He assisted his uncle [[Philip Barton Key]] in the sensational conspiracy trial of [[Aaron Burr]] and in the expulsion of [[John Smith (Ohio politician, died 1824)|Senator John Smith]] of Ohio. He made the first of his many arguments before the [[United States Supreme Court]] in 1807. In 1808, he assisted President [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s attorney general in ''United States{{nbsp}}v.{{nbsp}}Peters''.<ref>Leepson, pp. 16, 20–24.</ref>

In 1829, Key assisted in the prosecution of [[Tobias Watkins]], former U.S. Treasury auditor under President [[John Quincy Adams]], for misappropriating public funds. He also handled the [[Petticoat affair]] concerning Secretary of War [[John Eaton (politician)|John Eaton]],<ref>Leepson, pp. 116–122.</ref> and he served as the attorney for [[Sam Houston]] in 1832 during his trial for assaulting Representative [[William Stanbery]] of Ohio.<ref>[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fho73 Sam Houston] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420234122/https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fho73 |date=April 20, 2016 }}. Handbook of Texas Online.</ref> After years as an adviser to President Jackson, Key was nominated by the President to District Attorney for the District of Columbia in 1833.<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |title=Francis Scott Key {{!}} American lawyer |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-Scott-Key |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |access-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706154116/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-Scott-Key |url-status=live }}</ref> He served from 1833 to 1841 while also handling his own private legal cases.<ref name="bookrags">{{Cite web |url=http://www.bookrags.com/biography/francis-scott-key/ |title=Francis Scott Key {{!}} Biography |website=Encyclopedia of World Biography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404201350/https://www.bookrags.com/biography/francis-scott-key/ |archive-date=April 4, 2018 |access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref> In 1835, he prosecuted [[Richard Lawrence (failed assassin)|Richard Lawrence]] for his attempt to assassinate President Jackson at the top steps of the Capitol, the first attempt to kill an American president.