George Harrold Carswell

CARSWELL, GEORGE HARROLD

Through an unexpected appointment, George Harrold Carswell secured nomination on January 19, 1970, to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
The appointment by President RICHARD M.
NIXON came a mere six months after Carswell
was named to the federal appeals court. During
highly politicized Senate confirmation hearings,
the Republican nominee faced skepticism and
concern over his qualifications for the Supreme Court. In the end, Carswell was unable to overcome
the opposition to his appointment. On
April 8, 1970, he became the second Nixonappointed
candidate to be rejected for the U.S.
Supreme Court by the U.S. Senate.
Carswell was born December 22, 1919, to a
prominent family in Irwinton, Georgia. After
graduating from Duke University in 1941 and
from Mercer Law School in 1948, Carswell
became a trial attorney in private practice. In
1953, he was appointed by President DWIGHT D.
EISENHOWER as U.S. attorney for northern
Florida. Carswell held that post until 1958 when
he was appointed by Eisenhower to the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Florida.
At age thirty-eight, he was the nation’s youngest
federal judge. In 1969 Carswell was appointed by
Nixon to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit.
Carswell’s ascent to the U.S. Supreme Court
came on the heels of Nixon’s ill-fated nomination
of CLEMENT F. HAYNSWORTH JR. of South
Carolina. Nixon had nominated Haynsworth to
fill the associate justice seat vacated by ABE FORTAS,
who had resigned from the High Court in
1969 under a cloud of ethical violations.
Haynsworth, a conservative southerner and a
judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Fourth Circuit, had failed to win Senate confirmation
by ten votes.
By most standards Carswell was a jurist of
marginal talents. In addition, evidence of racist
conduct during the 1940s and 1950s brought
Carswell’s fitness for the bench into serious
question. His critics noted that as a lower-court
judge Carswell had demonstrated a marked bias
against African Americans. In addition, Carswell
had made white supremacist comments during
a 1948 campaign speech and had attempted as a
U.S. attorney to prevent the INTEGRATION of
a public golf course. Although Carswell
renounced the bigotry of his past, the damage to
his reputation was irreparable.
Carswell also suffered a reputation as a legal
lightweight. His opponents noted that a dismal
58 percent of Carswell’s judicial decisions had
been overruled by higher courts. In a vote of no
confidence, the Ripon Society, a Republican
group, rated Carswell’s performance as a federal
judge well below the average level of competence.
Carswell performed poorly during the SENATE
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE hearings, reinforcing
the assertion of his critics that he was an
inept nominee. His confirmation chances were
further weakened by a much-quoted observation
offered in his support by Republican
senator Roman Hruska, of Nebraska. The Midwestern
politician argued that even if Carswell
was mediocre, there were lots of mediocre
judges, lawyers, and citizens who were entitled
to some representation. Hruska went on to note
that not all Supreme Court judges could be
Brandeises, Frankfurters, and Cardozos.
A slim majority of senators refused to support
a jurist who failed to meet high standards.
On April 8, 1970, the Senate voted 51–48 to
reject Carswell’s nomination. Despite Nixon’s
dogged insistence that Carswell was a qualified
candidate, thirteen Republican senators voted
against his confirmation.
Nixon defended his unsuccessful nominee.
Refusing to admit his candidate’s shortcomings,
the president claimed that Carswell was opposed
by the Senate because he was a conservative
southerner and a believer in the “strict construction,”
or literal interpretation, of the U.S. Constitution.
Nixon’s third nominee, HARRY A. BLACKMUN, of Minnesota, met with Senate
approval and was confirmed without major
incident.
Shortly after his defeat Carswell resigned
from the federal appeals court and announced
his candidacy for U.S. senator from Florida. Carswell’s
senatorial bid did not succeed and he
returned to private law practice in Tallahassee.
Carswell died in 1992.
FURTHER READINGS
Levy, Leonard W. 1974. Against the Law: The Nixon Court
and Criminal Justice. New York: Harper & Row.