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U.S. Attorney and Federal Judgeship, 1977-1980

 Series
Identifier: M202.5

  • Staff Only
  • Please use the Collection Organization section below to place requests.

Series Description:

Materials include personal and financial records; personal correspondence--mostly congratulatory letters, and letters concerning federal jobs; applications and questionnaires for the district court judge position; notes and reports of mock trials at law school, seminars for new district judges, and press clips. Most of the material documents Mitchell's nomination process for district court judge, while some material covers his work and nomination as U.S. Attorney for Maine. Significant correspondents include Senators Edward Kennedy, Strom Thurmond, Edmund Muskie, William Cohen, Chief Justice Warren Burger, and President Jimmy Carter.

Dates

  • Creation: 1948 - 2023

Creator

Access Restrictions:

None except letters of recommendation restricted until 2055.

Background Note:

George J. Mitchell was appointed United States Attorney for Maine by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. In 1979 Carter appointed Mitchell as a U.S. district court judge. Senator Muskie had recommended Mitchell for both positions. As a U.S. attorney, Mitchell prosecuted federal cases that took place in Maine. Mitchell became the first judge to take the seat of a newly created judgeship in the Maine federal court district to relieve the pressure of a growing backlog of federal court cases. This new judgeship was based in Bangor, Maine. As a federal judge, Mitchell presided over federal civil, criminal, and class action court cases. He resigned this position in 1980 to fill the U.S. Senate seat of Edmund Muskie, who had been named U.S. Secretary of State.

Extent

2 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

From the Collection: Undetermined

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine 04011 Repository

http://library.bowdoin.edu/arch/index.shtml
Contact:
3000 College Station
Brunswick Maine 04011 USA
(207) 725-3288

Acknowledgment of non-neutrality

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