Ben Carter (Arkansas judge)

Ben Carter (c. 1895 – April 11, 1943)[1] was a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court for four months, taking office January 1, 1943, and serving until his death less than four months later, in 1943.[2][1]

Born in Texarkana, Arkansas, Carter attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and received degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.[1] He served in the United States Army during World War I, including 18 months of service in France, where he was a field artillery captain.[1] He then served as a city attorney for two terms, during which time he argued a utilities case before the Supreme Court of the United States, and then served two terms as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, for Miller County, Arkansas.[1]

In 1941, Governor Homer Martin Adkins appointed Carter to chair the state utilities commission,[1] and he was described as "the protege of the Adkins administration".[3] As a candidate for a seat on the state supreme court, he ran against Eastern Arkansas lawyer Arthur Adams, eking out a narrow victory despite Adams' strong support in the east.[3]

Carter died of a heart attack at the age of 48.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Heart Attack Fatal to Arkansas Supreme Court Jurist Carter", Northwest Arkansas Times (April 12, 1943), p. 1.
  2. ^ Arkansas Law Review and Bar Association Journal (1962), p. 264.
  3. ^ a b Harry Lee Williams, Forty Years Behind the Scenes in Arkansas Politics (1949), 80.
Political offices
Preceded by Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
1943–1943
Succeeded by