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honor to second the name of Judge Harrold Carswell for nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The CHAIRMAN. Any questions?

(No response.)

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Congressman.

STATEMENT OF HON. DON FUQUA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

Representative FUQUA. Thank you very much, Senator Eastland and distinguished members of the committee. As the Congressman representing the district which Judge Carswell resides in, it is a great pleasure to be here today and to concur wholeheartedly in the recommendation of the President for the nomination of Harrold Carswell as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

I have known Judge Carswell for many years. While I am not an attorney and have never appeared in his court, I know him as a man. We shared offices in the same Federal building in Tallahassee, Fla. We have talked over many issues confronting this Nation of ours and I know his feelings. I think he is an eminently qualified man, a man of honesty and integrity, and one who will add a great deal to the U.S. Supreme Court and one that this committee can be proud to approve. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Any questions?

(No response.)

The CHAIRMAN. I will place in the record letters endorsing the nominee from Judge Homer Thornberry, Judge Warren Jones, Judge Elbert P. Tuttle, Judge Robert A. Ainsworth, Jr., and Judge Bryan Simpson, all of the fifth circuit.

(The letters referred to follow :)

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS,

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT, Austin, Tex., January 22, 1970.

Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND,

Chairman, Committee on Judiciary,
U.S. Senate,

Washington, D.O.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I trust that it is not presumptuous of me to express the hope that the Senate of the United States will advise and consent to the appointment of Honorable G. Harrold Carswell to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

I have known Judge Carswell from the time I began to serve as United States District Judge. The first time I sat as Circuit Judge, Judge Carswell, as an invited District Judge, was a member of the same panel. Since he became a member of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, he and I have been members of the same Administrative and Screening Panel of our Court. During these years, I have had an opportunity to observe and know him as a Judge and as a man. Judge Carswell is a man of impeccable character. He is dedicated in his work and vigorous in its application. As a member of our Court, his volume and quality of opinions is extremely high. He has had an experience which adds to his numerous qualifications to be Associate Justice, as a lawyer, as United States Attorney, as United States District Judge and, now, as a Circuit Judge. As the record shows, he has had considerable experience on the Court of Appeals, having sat with our Court as an invited District Judge for eleven weeks before he was appointed to the Fifth Circuit. Judge Carswell has the compassion which is so important in a judge.

I believe Judge Carswell possesses the professional and judicial qualifications to be a distinguished Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Respectfully yours,

HOMER THORNBERRY,

U.S. Circuit Judge.

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS,

FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,

Jacksonville, Fla., January 23, 1970.

Hon. JAMES L. EASTLAND,

Chairman, of the Committee on the Judiciary,

U.S. Senate,

Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: I regard Harrold Carswell as eminently qualified in every way-personality, integrity, legal learning and judicial temperament— for the Supreme Court of the United States.

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MY DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: I am here attending some trustee meetings of my university and thus must apologize for writing longhand.

My purpose in writing is that I wish to make myself available to appear before the subcommittee at its hearing on the nomination of Judge Carswell, in support of his confirmation, if the committee would care to have me appear. I have been intimatley acquainted with Judge Carswell during the entire time of his service on the Federal bench, and am particularly aware of his valuable service as an appellate judge, during the many weeks he has sat on the Court of Appeals both before and after his appointment to our court last summer. I would like to express my great confidence in him as a person and as a judge.

My particular reason for writing you at this time is that I am fully convinced that the recent reporting of a speech he made in 1948 may give an erroneous impression of his personal and judicial philosophy, and I would be prepared to express this conviction of mine based upon my observation of him during the years I was privileged to serve as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Beginning Sunday evening, Jan. 24, I shall be with our daughter, Mrs. John J. Harman, 41 Winthrop St., Roxbury, Mass. 02119. The telephone is area code 617 GA 7-2993, if the committee should care to get in touch with me.

Respectfully yours,

ELBERT B. TUTTLE.

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS,
FIFTH CIRCUIT,

Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND,

New Orleans, La., January 23, 1970.

Chairman, and Members of the Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

GENTLEMEN: I submit for your favorable consideration the recommendation for confirmation of Judge G. Harrold Carswell to be a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Carswell is my colleague on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. I have known him prior to this time as a Federal District Judge. He has served as a member of the Judiciary for more than eleven years. He is a person of the highest integrity, a capable and experienced judge, an excellent writer and scholar, of agreeable personality, excellent personal habits, fine family, a devoted wife and children, and relatively young, as judges go, for the position to which he has been nominated.

In my view, Judge Carswell is well deserving of the high position of Supreme Court Justice and will demean himself always in a manner that will reflect credit upon those who have favorably considered his qualifications. Undoubtedly he will be an outstanding Justice of the Supreme Court and will bring distinction, credit and honor to our highest court.

Those of us who have known him for so many years as a capable and efficient Federal Judge feel an obligation to inform you of the high opinion which we entertain of his ability and qualifications. I am very glad to give him the highest possible recommendation and sincerely trust that the Senate will look favorably upon him and grant him confirmation.

Sincerely,

Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

ROBERT A. AINSWORTH, Jr.

U.S. Circuit Judge.

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS,

FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,

Jacksonville, Fla., January 22, 1970.

MY DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: The purpose of this letter is to attest to you and the members of your committee, for whatever value it may have, my personal judgment of the qualifications of U.S. Circuit Judge G. Harrold Carswell to become an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

I have been closely associated with Judge Carswell as a brother Florida Federal judge since he became a district judge in the spring of 1958. We worked closely together over the years. In recent months that association has continued on the Court of Appeals. I knew him slightly, but mainly by reputation, in the early fifties when he was U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. He possesses and uses well the requisite working tools of the judge's trade: industry, promptness, learning, attentiveness and writing skills. He is a competent and capable judicial craftsman, experienced in the diverse and complex areas of federal law as well as the almost limitless variety of cases coming to us under the diversity jurisdiction. In the six or seven months he has been a member of our Court and in extensive service thereon as a visitng judge over the prior years, he has shown a steady capacity for high productivity without the sacrifice of top quality in his work.

More important even than the fine skill as a judicial craftsman possessed by Judge Carswell are his qualities as a man: superior intelligence, patience, a warm and generous interest in his fellow man of all races and creeds, judgment and an open-minded disposition to hear, consider and decide important matters without preconceptions, predilections or prejudices. I have always found him to be completely objective and detached in his approach to his judicial duties.

In every sense, Judge Carswell measures up to the rigorous demands of the high position for which he has been nominated. I hope that the Judiciary Committee will act promptly and favorably upon his nomination. It is a privilege to recommend him to you without reservation.

With kind personal regards, I am

Sincerely,

The CHAIRMAN. Please stand up, Judge Carswell.

BRYAN SIMPSON.

Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

TESTIMONY OF HON. GEORGE HARROLD CARSWELL, NOMINEE TO BE ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

Judge CARSWELL. I do.

The CHAIRMAN. Judge, you have a biography there. Is it correct? If so, it will be placed in the record.

(Biographical sketch follows:)

GEORGE HARROLD CARSWELL

Born: 12-22-1919, Irwinton, Georgia. Education: 1937-1941, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, B.A. degree. 1941-1942, University of Georgia Law School, Athens, Georgia. 1946-1948, Mercer University Law School, Macon, Georgia, LL.B. degree.

Bar: 1948, Georgia. 1949, Florida.

Military Service: 8-9-42-11-28-45 (U.S. Navy, Lieutenant when discharged. Employment: 1949-1951, Ausley, Collins & Truett, Tallahassee, Florida, Associate. 1951-1953, Carswell, Cotton & Shrivers, Tallahasse, Florida, Partner. 7-11-53-4-17-58, United States Attorney, Northern District of Florida. 4-1858-6-27-69, United States District Judge, Northern District of Florida. 6-2769-present, U.S. Circuit Judge.

Marital Status: Married, 4 children.

Office: Tallahassee, Florida.

Home: 833 Lake Ridge Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32301.

To be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge CARSWELL. Yes, Senator, there is one small error in date. My present memory is that my military service should read 8-9-42 instead of 8-27-42, because I entered on active duty with the Navy in South Bend, Ind., Notre Dame University, on August 9, 1942.

The CHAIRMAN. With those changes, it will be admitted.

Senator HRUSKA. Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask permission to make a few observations and ask a few questions at this time. There is a bill on the floor of which I am manager on our side and the Senate is in session. If I could be accorded that privilege, I would be very grateful.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, I will yield to you.

Senator HRUSKA. Mr. Chairman, by way of introductory

Senator KENNEDY. Mr. Chairman, would the Senator yield for just a brief inquiry prior to the time of questioning, on that very point you have raised; that is, the pending floor situation? As I understand, Mr. Chairman, there is an amendment that is pending by the distinguished Senator from Michigan to an amendment of the distinguished Senator from North Carolina on a piece of legislation in which this committee has prime interest and responsibility. We went in at 10:30. There was no objection, with the understanding, at least as I understand, that the distinguished Senator from Louisiana was going to talk until noontime, and then we would begin the debate on the bill. I would like to know

Senator SCOTT. If the Senator will yield on that, there will also be a 30-minute morning hour, which carries us until 12:30.

Senator KENNEDY. If we could find out what is the intention of the chairman in terms of proceedings. I would imagine that after the distinguished Senator from Nebraska makes introductories, I would think probably the Senator from Michigan and the Senator from North Carolina and the Senator from Connecticut are interested in proceeding. I would like to find out what we are going to do and the way we are going to proceed.

The CHAIRMAN. We will see the condition on the floor after the vote. I would like to have an afternoon session.

the

Senator KENNEDY. You mean we are going to continue to sit through

The CHAIRMAN. No, the vote is at 1 o'clock. I thought we would quit at 12:30 and come back at 2:30 unless we are going to have votes

on the floor. If we are going to have votes on the floor, of course, we can't do that.

Senator KENNEDY. As I understand, then, it is the present intention that we will continue to sit until half past 12.

The CHAIRMAN. That is right.

Senator HRUSKA. Well, Mr. Chairman, this is the fourth time we find the Judiciary Committee considering the qualifications of Judge Carswell. In succession, they were first as U.S. attorney, then as U.S. district judge, then as U.S. circuit court judge, and today as the nominee of the President for an associate justiceship of the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, the Nation is entitled to have a man who is a man of wide experience and of proper preparation both academically and professionally. I do not know that there is any record of any present member of the Supreme Court that is as wide and as deep as the experience of this nominee in the field of the jurisprudence. He has experience on three levels of our judicial system.

I have been told that there has been a careful consideration and study of his record, apart from what was done last June when he was considered for the court of appeals, and the conclusion was drawn that his record as a judge is a sound one, that he is competent, practical, knowledgeable, and fair.

Now, I would have these three observations to make concerning any judge who is before us regarding his rulings and decisions. All are equally important. One is that any consideration of his judicial record should not be on a selected basis. His record must be examined in total and individual cases must not be singled out and held up as representative. There may very well be other rulings which go exactly the other way. So, to get an accurate picture, his record must be considered in totality.

Second, any analysis of a judicial ruling must be based on the situation, legal or otherwise, that prevailed at the time the ruling or decision was made. The law is a fast-moving and dynamic field of endeavor. This is certainly true in the field of civil rights. Certainly, what is the law today was not the law in some respects a year ago. It is increasingly true of the state of the law 5 years ago or 10 years ago.

Finally, the role of the district judge is somewhat limited, inasmuch as he is not a policymaker and he is bound to the decisions and the rulings of the superior courts, more particularly the circuit court and the Supreme Court. He has little flexibility. This fact should certainly be taken into consideration.

In addition to the survey and study of Judge Carswell's record as a judge, as a U.S. attorney and as a lawyer, there has been inquiry into his personal, financial, and nonjudicious activity. The President decided he was qualified. I am satisfied this committee will find that this man is fully competent and qualified.

Now, the records submitted by the judge to the committee include a property statement and his income tax returns. They will show, among other things, that while he is not an impoverished man, he is far from well off. He is far from affluent. And who could be after 17 years of public service with a large family, all of whom are alive and healthy and going to school and trying to get educated?

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