Gene Carter (November 1, 1935 – November 17, 2021) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Maine The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (in case citations, D. Me.) is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of ...

Education and career

Born in Milbridge,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, Carter received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

in 1958 and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

in 1961. He was a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to Judge J. Spencer Bell of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...

from 1961 to 1962, and was then in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

, JAG Corps, from 1962 to 1968, achieving the rank of captain. Carter entered private practice in Bangor, Maine in 1965, remaining in practice until 1980, when he became an associate justice of the

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. Between 1820 and 1839, justices served lifetime ...

from 1980 to 1983. Carter died on November 17, 2021.

Federal judicial service

On May 26, 1983, Carter was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Edward Thaxter Gignoux. Carter was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on June 22, 1983, and received his commission on June 23, 1983. He served as Chief Judge from 1989 to 1996. He assumed senior status on January 2, 2003.

Ethics controversy

In 1995, Carter was charged with an ethical violation involving allegations of dishonesty and favoritism in handling a civil matter. Judge

Juan R. Torruella Juan Rafael Torruella del Valle Sr. (June 7, 1933October 26, 2020) was a Puerto Rican jurist. He served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1984 until his death, and as chief judge of ...

, then Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, required Carter to explain his actions. Carter issued a 21-page statement attempting to justify his actions. Ultimately, Carter was found to have used poor judgement and acted inappropriately in the matter, but did not commit an ethics violation and was not sanctioned.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Gene 1935 births 2021 deaths Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maine United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan Lawyers from Bangor, Maine People from Milbridge, Maine University of Maine alumni New York University School of Law alumni United States Army officers 21st-century American judges