George Harrold Carswell
Judge Carswell no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Carswell decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
He deferred to administrative fact-finding when the agency’s conclusions were reasonable and supported by the record as a whole.
“It is well settled that the findings and conclusions of the Board, when supported by the record as a whole, will not be disturbed on appeal.”
He treated an indictment’s inability to identify which count covered which offense as a problem affecting later double-jeopardy pleas.
“The present indictment fails to reveal which counts the Grand Jury intended to apply to which offenses. Consequently any future pleas of former acquittal or conviction are imperiled.”
Procedural preferences
He applied Rule 19 by first asking whether an absent claimant was a party who should be joined if feasible, then considering whether the case could proceed without that party.
“Under subdivision (a) the Levee Board is clearly a party “to be joined if feasible.””
Cautions
He enforced preservation requirements when counsel neither requested an instruction nor objected before the jury retired.
“no party may assign as error any portion of the charge or omission therefrom unless he objects thereto before the jury retires to consider its verdict, stating distinctly the matter to which he objects and the grounds of his objection.”
He treated material reaching the jury outside the admitted evidence as requiring reversal when its possible effect on impartiality could not be evaluated.
“Our courts have traditionally upheld the position that verdicts should be set aside where it is shown that the impartiality of jurors may have been affected or where tainted material has come before the jury.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The judgment and sentence entered below are Affirmed.”
“The judgment of the District Court is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“Enforcement of the Board order is denied and the case is remanded for a full hearing to determine the extent to which the Union misrepresentations affected the election.”
A historical record
Judge Carswell no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.