George MacKinnon
George MacKinnon | |
---|---|
Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
In office May 20, 1983 – May 1, 1995 | |
Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review | |
In office May 19, 1979 – May 18, 1982 | |
Preceded by | Seat established |
Succeeded by | John A. Field Jr. |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
In office May 6, 1969 – May 20, 1983 | |
Appointed by | Richard Nixon |
Preceded by | Charles Fahy |
Succeeded by | Ken Starr |
United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota | |
In office 1953–1958 | |
Appointed by | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Preceded by | Fallon Kelly |
Succeeded by | Philip Neville |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 3rd district | |
In office January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 | |
Preceded by | William Gallagher |
Succeeded by | Roy Wier |
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 29th district | |
In office January 8, 1935 – January 4, 1943 | |
Preceded by | Burton Kingsley |
Succeeded by | Carl Wegner |
Personal details | |
Born | George Edwards MacKinnon April 22, 1906 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
Died | May 1, 1995 Potomac, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 89)
Political party | Republican |
Education | University of Minnesota (LLB) |
George Edward MacKinnon (April 22, 1906 – May 1, 1995) was an American politician, attorney, and judge who variously served as a
Education and career
Born in
Notable cases
During his service as United States attorney, MacKinnon successfully prosecuted the first labor case under the
Federal judicial service
MacKinnon was nominated by President Richard Nixon on April 23, 1969, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated by Judge Charles Fahy. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 5, 1969, and received his commission on May 6, 1969. He served as a Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review from 1979 to 1982. He served on the United States Sentencing Commission from 1985 to 1991. He assumed senior status on May 20, 1983. His service was terminated on May 1, 1995, due to his death in Potomac, Maryland.[3]
Philosophy
MacKinnon was also known as a conservative and once described as "so far right he makes Goldwater look like George McGovern," although this may have been hyperbole.[4] According to Judge Harry T. Edwards, Judge MacKinnon was "a real character: he was someone who was not easily dissuaded from his positions, who always aimed to get his way, and, yet, who always enjoyed his colleagues and fostered collegiality on the court."[5] Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, a fellow Minnesotan who appointed MacKinnon to the United States Sentencing Commission and the special court division that selected independent counsel, said, "He's a man who can't be frightened or pushed by anybody" when describing him.[6] Thomas J. Campbell, who once worked as a clerk for Judge MacKinnon, has written:
- Judge MacKinnon inspired by words. He inspired by his life's deeds. But he inspired most of all by what came to him, naturally. That he'd always introduce himself as George, not Judge. That he would call his wife on his private phone line, so that the government would not have to pay whatever marginal cost one phone call might represent. That he would answer his own phone with such alacrity that clerk or secretary would have to scramble to pick it up on the first ring. That he presided at the marriage, in chambers, of a man he had once prosecuted, convicted, and sent away to prison as U.S. Attorney. That he was loved by Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and sought the approval of neither to find his own sense of worth.[5]
References
- ^ Official Congressional Directory. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1979.
- ^ "Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit". dcchs.org. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
- ^ a b George Edward MacKinnon at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ Donald Dale Jackson, Judges 313 (1974).
- ^ a b Harry T. Edwards, In Memoriam: George E. MacKinnon, 64 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 819, 820-21 (1996)
- ^ Ann Pelham, "Judge MacKinnon Works Two Odd Jobs at the Edges of Constitutionality," Legal Times at 15 (May 7, 1990).
External links
- George Edward MacKinnon at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- George E. Mackinnon: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
- Minnesota Legislators Past and Present
- United States Congress. "George MacKinnon (id: M000027)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.