Edward Earl Carnes

Edward Earl Carnes (born June 3, 1950) is a Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Edward Earl Carnes
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
In office August 1, 2013 – June 2, 2020
Preceded by	Joel Fredrick Dubina
Succeeded by	William H. Pryor Jr.
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
In office October 2, 1992 – June 30, 2020
Appointed by	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Frank Minis Johnson
Succeeded by	Andrew L. Brasher
Personal details
Born	(1950-06-03) June 3, 1950 Albertville, Alabama
Education	University of Alabama (BS) Harvard Law School (JD)

Education and legal career

Carnes received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama in 1972. He received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1975. After law school, he accepted a position as an assistant state attorney general for the state of Alabama, where he served from 1975 to 1992.[1]

From 1981 to 1992 he served as the Chief of the Capital Punishment and Post-Conviction Litigation Division of the Alabama State Attorney General's Office. As the head of Alabama capital punishment unit, Carnes became, according to the National Law Journal, "the premier death penalty advocate in the country and a chief adviser on capital punishment to judges, the U.S. Justice Department and other prosecutors."[2] Carnes re-wrote Alabama's death penalty statute,[3] and defended its use before the Supreme Court of the United States on three occasions, including Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625.[1]

Carnes's ascendancy to the bench created a hole in the capital punishment unit, leading an Alabama appellate judge to lament that the state had lost a "very effective voice in support of executions in this state."[4]

Federal judicial service

Carnes was nominated by President George H. W. Bush on January 27, 1992 for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to a seat vacated by Judge Frank Minis Johnson.[1] To Carnes' opponents, he was a poor choice to succeed Judge Johnson, a hero of the civil rights movement who had declared that the segregated buses of Montgomery, Alabama were illegal.[5] Some compared replacing Johnson with Carnes to Bush's earlier decision to replace Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas. Nonetheless, his nomination might have sailed through the Senate if not for the Rodney King incident, which encouraged Senate Democrats to use Carnes' nomination as a chance to stump against racism in the criminal justice system.[3]

Critics blasted Carnes for defending Alabama prosecutors accused of systematically excluding blacks from death penalty trial juries.[6] Carnes' supporters responded that as a prosecutor, Carnes had engaged in a campaign to eliminate racial discrimination in jury selection even before the Supreme Court had become involved in the issue.[7] They noted that when selected by the judges of the state to prosecute judicial misconduct, Carnes had sought sanctions against sixteen sitting judges, including two who were removed from the bench for racist remarks.[7] He also sought a venue change to a county with a higher black population for the retrial of a twice-convicted black defendant accused of brutally murdering a white victim.[7]

Prominent southern civil rights lawyers were split over the nomination. Stephen Bright, Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, testified against the nomination and lambasted the Senate's decision to confirm Carnes to the bench.[8] But Morris Dees, cofounder of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Carnes' frequent adversary, went door-to-door among Senate Democrats, fighting on behalf of Carnes.[9] Both (Democratic) Senators from Alabama supported his nomination, as did the attorneys general of each of the states comprising the Eleventh Circuit.[10]

After eight months and a Democratic filibuster, Carnes was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 9, 1992 by a vote of 62–36.[11] He received his commission the following day.[1] He assumed office on October 2, 1992, and served as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from August 1, 2013 to June 2, 2020.[12] He assumed senior status on June 30, 2020.[13]

Writing style

Carnes has a folksy yet precise writing style, often engaging in wordplay and the use of literary allusions. He has been described as "one of the more talented writers on the federal appellate bench."[14]

Carnes' wry humor sometimes earns comparisons to former Judge Alex Kozinski on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[15] Another comparison has been to former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who, like Carnes, regularly used allusions and metaphors, often to justify deference to the legislature.

Carnes occasionally gives speeches on effective writing and on metaphors in the law, including to Harvard Law School 1L students on April 5, 2013, Emory Law School students on November 2, 2011, University of Georgia Law School 1L students on January 28, 2010, and University of Alabama School of Law 1L students on an annual basis.

References

1. Edward Earl Carnes at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
2. "Judge Blasts High Court on Death Penalty Appeals," Mobile Register, May 19, 1994.
3. Richard Lacayo, "To the Bench Via the Chair: A Major Confirmation Fight is Brewing Over the Replacement of a Federal Judge Who Was a Civil Rights Hero," Time, Sept. 14, 1992.
4. "Newsmakers: Edward E. Carnes," The National Law Journal, Dec. 28, 1994.
5. "A Legacy Dishonored," San Jose Mercury News, Sept. 15, 1992.
6. "1992: Year of Unexpected," Mobile Register, Dec. 27, 1992.
7. "Victory Over Smears," Memphis Commercial Appeal, Sept. 15, 1992.
8. David Pace, "Senate's Approval of Judge Attacked: Civil Rights Groups Criticize Edward Carnes After Confirmation Vote," Akron Beacon Journal, Sept. 10, 1992.
9. Dick Lehr, "For Crusaders Against Klan, a New Cause: Teaching Tolerance," Boston Globe, Jan. 19, 1993.
10. Neil A. Lewis, “Senate Accepts Carnes; A Judicial Confirmation Continues Tilt to the Right,” New York Times, Sept. 13, 1992.
11. "PN855 - Nomination of Edward E. Carnes for The Judiciary, 102nd Congress (1991-1992)". www.congress.gov. 1992-09-09. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
12. "Honorable Ed Carnes, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit".
13. "Eleventh Circuit Chief Judge Carnes to Take Senior Status". National Review. October 28, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
14. See http://howappealing.law.com/0207.html Archived 2007-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
15. "http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=The%20Ten%20Commandments%20Judge; Judge Blasts High Court on Death Penalty Appeals," Mobile Register, May 19, 1994.

External links

• Edward Earl Carnes at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Honorable Ed Carnes, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Legal offices
Preceded by Frank Minis Johnson	Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 1992–2020	Succeeded by Andrew L. Brasher
Preceded by Joel Fredrick Dubina	Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 2013–2020	Succeeded by William H. Pryor Jr.