HAYNSWORTH, CLEMENT FURMAN, JR.
Clement Furman Haynsworth Jr. was a controversial judge on a federal appellate court who was nominated for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court but failed to win confirmation.
Born October 30, 1912, in Greenville, South Carolina, and raised in South Carolina, Hayns-
worth graduated from Furman University in 1933 and from Harvard Law School in 1936. He then returned to his home state and practiced
law there for nearly 20 years. In 1957, President
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER appointed Hayns-
worth to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Fourth Circuit. Haynsworth became chief judge
of the court in 1964.
In May 1969, Associate Justice ABE FORTAS,
whose earlier nomination to become chief jus-
tice was withdrawn amid charges of financial
impropriety and conflict of interest, resigned his
seat on the U.S. Supreme Court after new
charges of unethical conduct were raised. Later
that summer, President RICHARD M. NIXON
nominated Haynsworth to succeed Fortas.
Reaction to Haynsworth’s nomination was
mixed. Some commentators thought him to be a
competent nominee, if not particularly distin-
guished, whereas others expressed disappointment
at his conservative judicial views.No U.S. Supreme
Court nominee had been denied confirmation
since 1930, and it initially appeared that Hayns-
worth would be confirmed with little debate.
In the confirmation hearings that followed,
however, Haynsworth faced serious conflict-of-
interest allegations. It was disclosed that he had
participated in two cases involving subsidiaries
of companies in which he held stock. Senators
opposing his nomination also revealed that
Haynsworth had purchased stock in a corpora-
tion after he had voted in its favor in a decision
but before the decision was announced by the
court. In addition, labor and CIVIL RIGHTS
groups voiced opposition to Haynsworth’s nom-
ination, contending that he did not support their
