Home About Chat Users Issues Party Candidates Polling Firms Media News Polls Calendar Key Races United States President Senate House Governors International

New User Account
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource." 
Email: Password:

  Carswell, G. Harrold
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationRepublican  
 
NameG. Harrold Carswell
Address
Tallahassee, Florida , United States
EmailNone
WebsiteNone
Born December 22, 1919
DiedJuly 13, 1992 (72 years)
ContributorThomas Walker
Last ModifedJuan Croniqueur
Oct 28, 2023 11:26pm
Tags Cancer - Navy - Bisexual -
InfoIn 1969, the Senate defeated President Richard Nixon's nomination of Judge Clement Haynsworth to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Abe Fortas (see below). Still angry about the Haynsworth defeat, in 1970 Nixon nominated Judge G. Harrold Carswell, a Southern conservative with "strict-constructionist" leanings, to fill the Fortas vacancy. Carswell had recently been appointed to the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which served the Deep South. His nomination was a surprise to many: Carswell had been a judge for just a short time and was seen as lacking distinction. Prominent legal scholars publicly criticized the nomination.

Some senators tried to sell Carswell's rather unremarkable career as an asset. In a famous speech in Carswell's defense, Republican Sen. Roman Hruska of Nebraska argued: "Even if he is mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers, and they are entitled to a little representation, aren't they? We can't have all Brandeises and Cardozos and Frankfurters and stuff like that."

Civil rights leaders joined the opposition to Carswell's nomination, after reporters discovered statements he had made as a young candidate for the Georgia legislature in 1948: "I yield to no man as a fellow candidate or as a fellow citizen in the firm, vigorous belief in the principles of White Supremacy, and I shall always be so governed." Carswell had also helped convert a public golf course in Florida into a private club to keep it segregated. The Senate rejected him 51-45.

Nixon's first Supreme Court nominee, Chief Justice Warren Burger, easily won confirmation in 1969. But Burger was from Minnesota, and Nixon still wanted to install a Southerner on the court to salute the region that contributed so much to his 1968 election win. So as Carswell neared defeat, Nixon angrily wrote to a Republican senator that the Senate was usurping his powers as president. The Senate majority leader, Mike Mansfield of Montana, responded that the "advise and consent" clause in the Constitution meant that the Senate shared the president's powers when it came to filling Supreme Court vacancies.


***********************************

George Harrold "Harold" Carswell (December 22, 1919 – July 13, 1992) was a Federal Judge and an unsuccessful nominee to the United States Supreme Court.

Carswell was born in Irwinton, Georgia and graduated from the United States Naval Academy and the University of Georgia School of Law.

Carswell served as an attorney and eventually the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Carswell was nominated and confirmed to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in 1958. Carswell was then nominated by President Richard Nixon to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1969.

Nixon nominated Carswell to the Supreme Court on January 19, 1970 to replace Justice Abe Fortas. Carswell was praised by Senators such as Richard Russell; he was criticized for the high reversal rate (58%) of his decisions that were later appealed, and by civil-rights advocates for his judicial record and for vocally supporting White supremacy in 1948 while running for office in Georgia.

Carswell was rejected by the Senate on April 8, 1970 by a vote of 51-45. 17 Democrats and 28 Republicans voted for Carswell. 38 Democrats and 13 Republicans voted against Carswell. After this, Harry Blackmun was nominated by Nixon and confirmed by the Senate to fill the Fortas vacancy.

After his rejection, Carswell resigned from the district court and unsuccessfully ran for the United States Senate in 1972, losing in the Republican Party primary by a large margin.

Carswell was arrested and convicted of battery, in 1976, for advances he made to an undercover police officer in a Florida men's room; some claim him as the first homosexual or bisexual nominated to the Supreme Court.

[Link]

[Link]

JOB APPROVAL POLLS

BOOKS
Title Purchase Contributor

EVENTS
Start Date End Date Type Title Contributor

NEWS
Date Category Headline Article Contributor

DISCUSSION
Importance? 6.00000 Average

FAMILY
Father George H. Carswell 0000-

INFORMATION LINKS
RACES
  09/08/1970 FL US Senate - R Primary Lost 34.38% (-28.14%)
  04/08/1970 Supreme Court - Associate Justice Lost 46.88% (-6.25%)
ENDORSEMENTS