George Edward MacKinnon was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 22, 1906, the son of James Alexander Wiley and Cora Blanche (Asselstine) MacKinnon. He attended the University of Colorado, and was graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1929, having also won All-American rating as center on the Minnesota football teams of 1925-1927, and the Western Conference Medal of 1929.
Following graduation he entered private practice in Minneapolis and acted as assistant general counsel to Investor's Syndicate that later became Investors Diversified Services. Elected from the 29th District to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1934, 1936, 1938, and 1940, he served on the Rules Committee and as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He authored and led the fight for the 1939 Minnesota State Reorganization Act, and drafted the state Civil Service Law of 1939 and the state Old Age Assistance Law of 1936.
In 1942 MacKinnon volunteered for duty with the United States Navy, spent four years with the Atlantic Fleet Air Force, earned a citation for meritorious services, and was discharged a commander.
Upon his return in 1946 he was elected from Minnesota's Third District to the United States House of Representatives and served on the Education and Labor Committee. As a congressman MacKinnon worked with Richard M. Nixon on drafting the Taft-Hartley Act and on the investigation of Alger Hiss. MacKinnon was defeated for reelection in 1948. From 1949-1953 he was engaged in private practice in Minneapolis, was active during the period 1949-1952 in the campaigns of Harold E. Stassen, and served in 1952 as research director for Nixon in his first vice presidential campaign.
On April 1, 1953, MacKinnon was appointed United States District Attorney for Minnesota. He investigated and prosecuted one of the most famous labor racketeering cases in the country--United States v. Gerald Connelly--two years before the McClellan Committee began its investigations.
In 1958 he resigned his post as United States District Attorney to accept the Republican nomination for governor of Minnesota, a contest he lost to Orville Freeman. During 1960 MacKinnon focused on labor racketeering investigations that specifically involved James Hoffa as a special assistant to United States Attorney General William P. Rogers. From 1961 to 1969 he was general counsel and vice president of Investor's Mutual Funds in Minneapolis.
In 1969 President Nixon appointed MacKinnon a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit. While on the D.C. circuit bench MacKinnon also served as presiding judge for the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, as a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and as presiding judge of the Division for the Purpose of Appointing Independent Counsels.
MacKinnon married Elizabeth Valentine Davis, born on August 5, 1915 in Palmer, Massachusetts, on August 20, 1938. The MacKinnons had three children and lived in Long Lake, Minnesota, 1948-1969, and Potomac, Maryland, 1969-1995. MacKinnon died May 1, 1995.
The papers of George E. MacKinnon span the years 1927-1995 with the majority concentrated after 1947 when MacKinnon served one term as a representative in the 80th Congress. The strengths of the collection focus on domestic policy issues immediately following the second world war, the political campaigns of Harold Stassen and Richard Nixon, organized crime investigations of Minnesota labor and liquor rackets during the 1950s, and the inner deliberations of a federal appellate court during the latter twentieth century. The papers include correspondence and memoranda, bills, committee files, investigative materials, legal case files and opinions, press releases, reports, speeches, printed items, clippings and additional materials related to the political, professional, and judicial aspects of MacKinnon's life. The collection is divided into three series: Political and Professional Subject Files, Court of Appeals, and Personal Papers.
The Political and Professional Subject Files are further divided into sections representing each major aspect of MacKinnon's life and include materials from his roles as a legislator, district attorney, political campaigner, and federal judge. The files that document his legislative term center on domestic policy issues and contain substantial information on communism, taxation of cooperatives, foreign aid, housing, immigration, Minnesota issues and concerns, Palestinian independence, postal service, railroads, Republican Party affairs, the armed services, and the work of the House Education and Labor Committee. Files originating from his work as district attorney for the state of Minnesota contain investigatory and subject materials. The investigatory materials focus on Minnesota labor and liquor rackets, particularly the activities of the Teamsters Union and Isadore Blumenfeld (Kid Cann). Political files providing information about Harold Stassen's 1948 and 1952 presidential campaigns and Richard Nixon's 1952 vice presidential campaign are included with the files from MacKinnon's legislative term. Additional political files concentrate on MacKinnon's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign against Orville Freeman in 1958 and Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign. Also included within the Political and Professional Subject Files are files MacKinnon kept in his appellate court chambers. These files focus more upon MacKinnon's personal interests and activities than upon the functions of the Court and reflect MacKinnon's continued interest in Republican Party politics, Alger Hiss, Minnesota crime, the Teamsters Union, and University of Minnesota football.
Files representing MacKinnon's term on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia constitute the bulk of the collection. These files provide rich and extensive documentation of latter twentieth century challenges to constitutional, criminal, and regulatory laws and reveal the judicial decision-making process behind the interpretation of those challenges. Files for every case brought before MacKinnon, including many Watergate-related appeals, are contained within this section. Additional files document MacKinnon's roles on the division of the court that appointed independent prosecutors and the commission that formulated federal sentencing guidelines. Information regarding suits contesting the constitutionality of the Independent Counsel Act and the sentencing guidelines are also included.
The personal papers contain materials related to MacKinnon's naval service during World War Two (1942-1946) and also include his personal correspondence spanning the years 1940-1995. Topics discussed throughout the personal correspondence complement information contained in the subject and court files regarding state and national politics, the Republican Party, criminal investigations, court cases, University of Minnesota 1924-1927 football teams, and family history. Principal correspondents include Warren Burger, Harold Stassen, Richard Nixon, Edward Devitt, Leonard P. Walsh Edward Thye, Otto Silha, Marshall Crowley, Frederick Hovde, Duck Cullen, Walter Trohan, Robert W. Turner, Robert McKay, and Arthur Veysey.
These documents are organized into the following sections:
Accession numbers: 11,059; 14,624; 14,954; 15,299
Processed by: Jim Pederson, 1971; Bonnie Palmquist, 1992, 1994; Monica Manny Ralston, 2000.
Catalog ID number: 09-00037354
The subject files are arranged in five sections that document MacKinnon's activities, interests, and concerns during the times he served as a representative from Minnesota's 3rd district in the 80th Congress, as the U.S. District Attorney for Minnesota and Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General, as gubernatorial candidate against Orville Freeman, as an advisor to Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign, and as a Court of Appeals Judge. Many of the topics from one period are carried over to others.
This set of subject files primarily represents MacKinnon's legislative concerns while he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 80th Congress (1947-1948). Many files are related to his seat on the Education and Labor Committee that drafted the Taft-Hartley Act and to MacKinnon's interest in economic policies. In addition this section includes materials related to the 1948 and 1952 presidential campaigns of Harold Stassen and the 1952 vice presidential campaign of Richard M. Nixon. MacKinnon served as one of Stassen's key supporters in both the 1948 and 1952 campaigns and then served as director of Nixon's research team after Stassen lost the 1952 Republican nomination to Dwight Eisenhower. Much of the correspondence and reports included within these campaign files contain advance strategy and information regarding public opinion and the activities of other candidates. Files from Stassen's 1952 campaign include detail regarding MacKinnon's investigation of petitions to place Eisenhower's name on the Minnesota primary ballot. Additional political files are related to MacKinnon's campaigns for the Minnesota legislature.
The file contents include memoranda, constituent correspondence, notes, speeches, reports, informational pamphlets, press releases, news clippings, and magazine articles and reprints. Government publications ranging from bills and circulars to reports and administrative rules and regulations are also included. House bills introduced by MacKinnon regarding emergency housing, Social Security benefits, internal revenue and unemployment taxation, veterans bond payments, and psychopathic personalities are also included. The primary subject areas are communism, taxation of cooperatives, education, European recovery, federal aid to Greece and Turkey, Alger Hiss, housing, immigration, labor, Joseph McCarthy, oleomargarine, Palestine, the Post Office Department, railroads, selective service laws, social security, income tax, the United Nations, the University of Minnesota, universal military training, and veterans.
Includes correspondence related to H.R. 6265 introduced by MacKinnon.
Includes notes and memoranda regarding Alger Hiss as well as photocopies of news clippings from February 6-11, 1935 regarding the purge of left-wing Administration staff and counsel Jerome Frank.
Includes pamphlets on dairy production, rabbit raising, log farm buildings, money-saving menus, and the 1946 report of the Chief of Food Services,
Contains pamphlets on a national health plan and the extension of medical services to rural areas.
Includes a list of Minnesotan non-combat naval deaths compiled by the Navy Department and Committee reports on petroleum uses and officer disability retirement.
Includes news clippings and notes about land dealings between the city of Chicago and Arvey, Cook County Democratic Chairman.
Includes correspondence regarding the sea-air controversy and Alaskan bush pilot operations.
Includes news clippings and a speech by Benton, Democratic senator from Connecticut.
Includes a pamphlet, bill, and findings of facts regarding Governor Adlai E. Stevenson's veto of Illinois' proposed seditious activities act.
Contains a pamphlet published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for states and localities regarding budget planning and the economy.
Includes preliminary data and projections on post war migration, marital status, family, population, farm operations, employment, and incomes.
Includes a copy of H.R. 3512 introduced by MacKinnon.
Includes a copy of H.R. 4826 introduced by MacKinnon.
Contains correspondence regarding a case before the National Labor Relations Board regarding the firing of Gamble Skogmo employees who had been ousted from the AFL for communist activity.
Correspondence and reports regarding the HUAC investigation of Condon, Director of the National Bureau of Standards.
Includes a copy of H.R. 219 introduced by MacKinnon. His resolution was aimed at amending House Rule XIV in order to prohibit intimidation through floor debate that referenced the opinion of the President.
Includes a copy of H.R. 4188 introduced by MacKinnon.
Contains correspondence and news clippings regarding the war crimes trial of Japanese soldiers for killing Croze, a Minneapolitan, and four other American prisoners of war on the Celebes Islands.
WCCO-CBS promotional material containing the scripts for six radio presentations on racial and religious discrimination.
Includes HUAC proceedings in an investigation of Gerhart's propaganda activities.
Includes a copy of H.R 6578 introduced by MacKinnon.
Includes reports of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs issued just before passage of the 1948 Foreign Assistance Act.
Contains a copy of House document no. 410,
Includes a copy of H.R. 4011 introduced by MacKinnon.
Includes campaign literature on MacKinnon's DFL opponent for Minnesota's 3rd District seat in the 1948 congressional election.
Includes the second and third reports to Congress from the Department of State.
Contains correspondence with the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Contains materials collected for Nixon's 1952 vice presidential campaign including news clippings about Adlai Stevenson's role as a character witness for Hiss, copies of Senator Karl E. Mundt's January 25, 1950 speech and Nixon's January 26, 1950 speech on the Hiss trial, a copy of U.S. District Court Judge Goddard's opinion on Hiss's 1952 motion for a new trial, and MacKinnon's correspondence as Nixon's research director.
Includes a copy of H.R. 5299 introduced by MacKinnon.
Includes pamphlets regarding the Federal Housing Authority, the National Housing Act, emergency housing for veterans, cooperative housing, and rental housing insurance.
H.R. 6517 introduced by MacKinnon to grant a residency visa for the Japanese wife of a U.S. citizen and WWI veteran.
Contains correspondence with Joseph H. Ball, Elmer J. Ryan, and other Minnesotans concerning Humphrey's political endorsements while mayor of Minneapolis and his possible bid for the 3rd District seat.
Correspondence concerning the Gunsberg family's release from Czechoslovakia.
Contains B'nai B'rith published manuals concerning U.S. immigration and citizenry laws.
Correspondence concerning the use of seasonal immigrant labor.
Includes reports on hearings before the Committee concerning frequency modulation radio and fuel supply.
Includes a copy of H.R. 4327 introduced by MacKinnon relating to exclusions of gross income of senior citizens.
Contains
Correspondence and copies of MacKinnon's House address, "Before and After the New Labor Law."
Includes pamphlets, analyses, news releases, and
statements as well as a
Contains a pamphlet referring to the voting record of congressmen in relation to the Taft-Hartley Act and a Republican campaign rebuttal to the L.L.P.E.'s vote test.
Various Department of Labor publications providing statistical and analytical information on labor disputes and strikes, 1919-1947.
Contains the text of a speech on communism and the U.S. government given by Luce over the NBC television and radio networks on the day Earl Browder, her opponent in the 1944 congressional campaigns, was arrested for perjury.
Includes a
A courtesy edition of a North Minneapolis newspaper dedicated to the support of MacKinnon's candidacy.
Contains MacKinnon's correspondence as an attorney representing Mrs. J.H. Fischer who operated a University district rooming house in a Minneapolis hotel licensure case.
Contains correspondence between MacKinnon and his staff based in his Washington and Minneapolis offices.
Contains letters expressing the writers' appreciation for MacKinnon's support of various proposals before the Minnesota legislature.
Contains letters expressing the writers' appreciation for MacKinnon's support of various proposals before the House of Representatives.
Contains pamphlets and completed forms concerning MacKinnon's application for civil service annuity benefits.
Includes policy theme suggestions from the Republican
National Committee, printed material regarding the Dewey and Truman
presidential campaigns, and a topical index to Republican remarks printed in
the
Includes tearsheets from the
Includes magazine articles regarding McCarthyism, memoranda regarding McCarthy's standing in the 1952 Wisconsin election, and notes and memoranda regarding McCarthy's book on General George C. Marshall.
Includes correspondence between MacKinnon, the office of the U.S. Attorney General, and McDonald (a Minneapolis attorney) regarding damage suits filed against Northwest Airlines.
Includes correspondence and findings regarding the situation of secondary metropolitan airports in Hennepin County.
Includes correspondence, lists of job openings, and labor, wage, and crop reports.
Contains correspondence from congressional members thanking MacKinnon for the courtesy of sending them the 1947 official Minnesota highway map.
Contains correspondence with Mullin, a Los Angeles attorney regarding Republican politics.
Correspondence concerning navy personnel, court-martials, supply contracts, and Senate bill 62.
Additional campaign files related to the 1952 discovery of Nixon's senatorial campaign expense fund are included within the personal and professional subject files that MacKinnon kept while a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Contains correspondence and the July 1948 issue of the
Correspondence concerning O'Brien's appeal before the Parole Board.
Includes correspondence from oil industrialists, news clippings, an article on oil policy by Harold Ickes, and 1946-1947 reports on the national gas reserves.
Includes correspondence, H.R. 5399 to amend federal old age and survivors insurance, and a Social Security Agency pamphlet describing the characteristics of state plans.
Includes a copy of H.R. 2245, pamphlets, compiled data, and other printed matter regarding repeal of the oleomargarine tax.
Contains a print of the legislative memorial written by MacKinnon and adopted by the Minnesota House.
Contains a variety of pamphlets and publications issued by American League for a Free Palestine, American Christian Palestine Committee, American Jewish Congress, and American Zionist Emergency Council or authored by Kermit Roosevelt, Henry Morgenthau, and a committee chaired by Simon Rifkind. Also includes several memoranda submitted to the United Nations by the Arab Higher Committee and The Nation Associates.
Correspondence regarding a trip through the Panama Canal with MacKinnon's wife made in December 1947-January 1948.
Correspondence and
Correspondence and news clippings regarding Harold Stassen's charge that Pauley, assistant secretary of the army, used inside information to speculate in grain commodities.
Printed radio broadcasts and newsletters by Pettengill, Democratic senator from Indiana, 1930-1938
Contains correspondence opposed to the plans and hearings before the House (1947) and Senate (1948) Committees on Expenditures in the Executive Departments.
Contains a pre-publication study issued for the House Office of the Coordinator of Information by Floyd Arthur Harper and the Foundation for Economic Education.
Includes news clippings and pamphlets discussing inflationary causes and Democratic and Republican analyses.
Contains correspondence and bills, including H.R. 2937 introduced by MacKinnon and based on Minnesota statutes, "to provide that the laws of the District of Columbia relating to the insane may be applied to dangerous habitual sex offenders."
Contains abstracts prepared by The Library of Congress Legislative Reference Service on the topics of democracy, United Nations, labor problems, federal executive reorganization, and Great Britain.
Includes a six-year plan as prepared by the Missouri Basin Inter-Agency Committee.
Includes correspondence, pamphlets, and news releases regarding statehood.
Contains questionnaires on campaign issues from various special interest groups such as the American Veterans Committee, the Committee of One Thousand to Abolish HUAC, the United World Federalists, and the National Woman's Party.
Contains a supporting statement by MacKinnon and correspondence regarding H.R. 2642, a bill to preserve the wilderness of roadless areas in the Superior National Forest. A great deal of the correspondence is between MacKinnon and Representative John A. Blatnik, who authored the bill, as well as Chester S. Wilson, Minnesota Commissioner of Conservation, and George Laing, secretary of the Minnesota Division of the Izaac Walton League of America.
Includes a copy of H.R. 2642, hearings before the House
Committee on Agriculture, a reprint of a preservation article by Chester S.
Wilson, maps, and correspondence and publications from Robert G. Mueller,
managing editor of
Correspondence regarding armed services longevity pay due Radke.
Correspondence regarding Rensch's refusal to treat the MacKinnons while in Durango, Colorado.
Correspondence and a copy of H.R. 6221 introduced by MacKinnon to compensate Schmitt for injuries sustained at Fort Snelling that were caused by defective ammunition.
A booklet prepared by the staff of the Senate Minority Policy Committee concerning federal censorship under Democratic administrations, 1933-1952.
Correspondence and service report concerning Short, a naval
commander who inspired a
Campaign literature and news clippings regarding Minneapolis mayoral candidate.
Includes correspondence with the American Medical Association, the text of a lecture given by Walter H Judd to the Medical School of Northwestern University, and a copy of comments made by Willard C. Rappleye, dean of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, before the New York State Commission on the Need for a State University.
Correspondence, notes, background research, political analyses, and news clippings regarding Adlai Stevenson's vice presidential running mate.
Typescript of a speech given in New York City on March 17, 1948 in support of universal military training.
Correspondence with Spott, PAC chairman for Local Auxiliary 1138, CIO.
Includes correspondence between MacKinnon and Stassen, Stassen's aides, and key supporters regarding the 1948 and 1952 presidential campaigns.
Includes an agenda for a December 19, 1946 meeting in St.
Paul to explore Stassen's campaign strategy, a 1947
Includes correspondence, reports, news clippings, and magazine excerpts from inquiries regarding the Truman administration, the selection and qualification of state delegates, and the enrollment of nominees on state primary ballots that MacKinnon conducted for the Stassen campaign.
Concerning the immigration status and granting of visas to various individuals.
Includes a short biography of Elbert H. Gary published by the Newcomen Society and background memoranda on scrap steel, iron ore, and steel profits distributed by the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Includes correspondence, speech texts, biographical data, research reports, and news clippings regarding Stevenson's gubernatorial record and his connections to Alger Hiss and the Americans for Democratic Action.
Correspondence regarding MacKinnon's intervention with the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Co. on behalf of a Minneapolis manufacturer.
Correspondence and reports concerning a joint resolution to extend sugar control.
Includes correspondence from tenants of the housing project and MacKinnon's replies concerning amendment to the Housing Act of 1937.
Correspondence and printed material regarding the liquidation of government surplus by the War Assets Administration.
Includes MacKinnon's correspondence with Harold E. Stassen
regarding Taft's ownership of the
Includes correspondence and a copy of H.R. 3946 introduced by MacKinnon to authorize immediate payment of bonds issued under the Armed Forces Leave Act of 1946 to discharged veterans.
Includes correspondence and a copy of H.R. 6196 introduced by MacKinnon.
Includes background material compiled by the Research Division of the Republican National Committee concerning Truman's administration, family background, veto record, platform pledge and promises, foreign relations and domestic affairs policy, and "red herring" references.
A booklet issued by the Minority Policy Committee containing Truman quotations in a topical arrangement.
Correspondence, news clippings, and production data regarding the closing of the ordnance plant.
Includes constituent correspondence in opposition to the
Committee, MacKinnon's outgoing correspondence to Mundt and Nixon, the pamphlet
Contains miscellaneous printed material including background information on the Yalta conference and a copy of the Havana Charter for an International Trade Organization.
A report by Howard S. Piquet, Specialist on International Economic Relations, Legislative Reference Service, Library of Congress.
Contains economic data compiled by both the Research Division of the Republican National Committee and the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress.
Informational pamphlets, news clippings, and correspondence issued by and concerning the UWF.
Correspondence regarding the disability and pension claims of various individuals, the Minnesota Veterans Hospital, and other matters regarding veterans benefits or the Administration.
Includes statistics regarding the 1945-1946 operation of the Minneapolis Veterans Hospital.
Bills including H.R. 4774 introduced by MacKinnon, reports, correspondence, and statistics on emergency rental housing units and insured mortgages.
Lists of veterans from Minnesota's 3rd District.
Contains news clippings, correspondence, and a copy of Wallace's open letter to Soviet Premier Stalin.
Includes press releases and lists of nominees for appointment in the Regular Army.
Correspondence and news clippings concerning the trial and immigration status of Warhol, a Minneapolis AFL upholstery union agent suspended on communist charges.
Correspondence and a copy of H.R. 4602 introduced by MacKinnon to compensate Weatherly for injuries resulting from an automobile driven by a United States Post Office mail carrier.
News clippings, campaign literature, and background material on MacKinnon's DFL opponent who succeeded him to the 81st Congress.
Includes correspondence and statements regarding H.R. 4408, a bill to authorize a Women's Equal Pay Act.
Includes MacKinnon's correspondence addressed to Governor Youngdahl, 1947-1948, and correspondence with others concerning Youngdahl's appointment by President Truman to the federal judiciary.
This set of subject files primarily represents MacKinnon's investigative and prosecutorial concerns while he was U.S. District Attorney for the State of Minnesota. Senator Edward J. Thye recommended MacKinnon for the post to replace Phillip Neville as he left the office for private practice. The majority of the investigative materials pertain to cases involving either labor or liquor rackets. These investigations particularly focused on the activities of Isadore Blumenfeld (Kid Cann) and the Teamsters Union. While district attorney MacKinnon successfully prosecuted the first labor case under the Taft-Hartley Act against Archer Daniels Midland, Gerald Connelly, and Sidney Brennan. MacKinnon resigned from the U.S. District Attorney's office in June of 1958 in order to campaign for the seat of Minnesota's governor.
A few files also pertain to MacKinnon's 1960 position as a special assistant to the U.S. attorney general. MacKinnon particularly focused on labor rackets in this position and started the Test Fleet investigation that eventually led to James Hoffa's perjury conviction.
Additional information regarding some of the high profile cases that MacKinnon investigated as U.S. District Attorney are included within the subject files kept during his 1958 Gubernatorial Campaign and his tenure on the Court of Appeal. These files contain information relative to proceedings regarding Gerald Connelly, Walter Cramond, Kid Cann, Benjamin Dranow, James Hoffa, the Teamsters Union, and the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company that occurred after MacKinnon left the district attorney's office.
Includes news clippings regarding MacKinnon's nomination, letters from newspaper editors to MacKinnon supporting his nomination, and letters MacKinnon wrote to Senator Thye, Attorney General Herbert Brownell, and Deputy Attorney General William P. Rogers regarding political partisanship and his Senate confirmation. The Senate confirmed MacKinnon's appointment on March 23 and he took office on April 1. He was reappointed in 1957.
Tabulation of bar ballots that passed over MacKinnon for Minneapolis municipal court judge.
MacKinnon prosecuted Brennan, vice president of the Teamsters, for conspiracy charges in criminal case no. 8658. The file contains MacKinnon's trial notes including his argument to the jury, news clippings, pleading memoranda, and background material.
Statement of John J. McGinty opposing Burger's 1955 appointment to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, MacKinnon correspondence regarding Burger's appointment to the Supreme Court, and a note from Burger regarding the Court of Appeals case of Dorman v. United States.
Includes investigative notes about the misuse of union funds by Connelly and James Hoffa and correspondence to the Internal Revenue Service regarding Connelly's tax evasion.
Background notes regarding Cramond's 1941 petition for naturalization and his failure to attest his criminal convictions.
Contains very sketchy details of conversations, court filings, appointments, and events.
Memoranda and notes regarding potential investigative charges against Dranow as an agent for the John W. Thomas Company. In early January 1961, as Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney, MacKinnon presented a case against Dranow to a federal grand jury resulting in Dranow's indictment on mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud charges.
Correspondence regarding MacKinnon's screening of petitions to place Eisenhower's name on the Minnesota primary ballot.
Notes and correspondence regarding unethical actions by Governor Orville Freeman and the state's commission to investigate the ethics of government officials.
Notes, memoranda, and news clippings related to Hoffa, Gerald Connelly, and the Teamsters Union.
Includes worksheets and copies of MacKinnon's personal income tax filings.
Correspondence, notes, sample policies, and a draft agreement for a venture bank credit insurance business.
A statistics summary and a chart of all individual cases referred to the Justice Department's Office of the Chief Counsel, 1946-1952.
Notes, statements, a copy of testimony before the Senate Rackets Committee, correspondence, crime statistics, resolutions, state attorney general's opinion, individual background reports, and news clippings regarding investigations of liquor licensing and the Kid Cann syndicate
Contains background reports regarding Harry Gelman and members of his St. Paul liquor syndicate (1927), memoranda and printed material concerning seditious activities including a secret communication from the director of Pacific Operations to the Office of War Information regarding Chinese personnel (1940s), correspondence with Senator Karl E. Mundt concerning court martial proceedings against General MacArthur (1951), correspondence with Nixon and John Foster Dulles concerning Alger Hiss (1948-1951), an analysis of possible investigations of the Democratic national administration probably prepared for the Stassen campaign (1951), and notes concerning bribery in tax cases (1956).
Includes a 1961 letter explaining the relationships between Investors companies and lists of persons to whom MacKinnon mailed the company's annual reports.
News clippings.
Includes a copy of the 1958 Hennepin County grand jury indictment regarding Kid Cann, members of his syndicate, their liquor and gambling operations, and their activities in tax evasion, kidnappings, and murder. The majority of the file contains news clippings concerning the fraud trial of the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company.
Correspondence, photographic copies of prison correspondence between Lupino, Alex DeGoode, John Azzone and their wives, a postcard sent by Lupino from prison to Gerald Connelly regarding a monetary gift, transcripts of telephone surveillance, a statement by Tony DeVito, and news clippings regarding Lupino's robbery conviction in Conway, South Carolina and his later trial in the disappearance of DeVito.
Includes a copy of MacKinnon's 1955-1956 report to the attorney general, statistics, correspondence with the Justice Department regarding the case work of the Minnesota district office, biographical data, and notes regarding MacKinnon's prosecutorial record. Also includes Chicago Crime Commission memoranda regarding District Judge Joseph S. Perry, some personal correspondence, a pencil cartoon depicting MacKinnon as a sleuth, and a copy of the appellate opinion in the contempt conviction of Harry H. Isaacs.
Notes and printed materials, including a copy of McCarthy's
Contains investigative notes, copies of Treasury Department memoranda, and a list of stockholders regarding a tax case against the company and their bribe of Minneapolis city council members.
Includes correspondence, a meeting program, and notes on Minnesota murder statutes related to MacKinnon's participation on a panel for the Association's criminal law institute.
Correspondence and a speech by Otto A. Silha to the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers.
Includes a 1931 news clipping about the basketball team of Investors Syndicate, 1942 correspondence regarding MacKinnon's availability for naval mobilization, his notice of nomination as the 1946 Republican Party congressional candidate, and correspondence and a news clipping regarding the 1952 presidential election.
Correspondence attesting Moore's cooperation in the 1956 indictment of James P. Taylor for murder in connection with a Thief River Falls bank robbery.
Correspondence and memoranda regarding Nixon's service on the boards of the Investors family of companies, requests for Nixon speaking engagements, various shareholder concerns, and scattered political and partisan matters.
Correspondence and proceedings commemorating the senior status of Nordbye, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Minnesota.
Notes and drafts regarding IDS matters.
Recommendations for the Nixon administration.
Correspondence, reservations, and three photographs.
Background report from the F.B.I and draft affidavits of MacKinnon for criminal case no. 8792 involving Segal, an attorney, charged with perjury and violations of the White Slave Traffic Act.
Includes MacKinnon's oath of office and civil service data in connection with his appointment as a special attorney. MacKinnon was specifically assigned to cases involving Teamsters Union activities.
Includes a typescript of newspaper extracts regarding a replevin suit brought by the state of Virginia against J. P. Morgan for the restitution of Martha Washington's will and typed notes regarding George Washington's family history, military achievements, and political career.
Article given to MacKinnon by Stassen regarding Adlai Stevenson's administration as governor of Illinois.
Memoranda concerning Taran's fraudulent parole and subsequent arrests.
Information on racketeering, Gerald Connelly, Ben Dranow, Walter Cramond, and Sidney L. Brennan.
Notes, correspondence, and news clippings related to Fred Ossanna, president of the transit company.
Includes investigative notes about Kid Cann, Hoffa, Connelly, Lupino, Tommy Banks, and others.
MacKinnon's application to the bar.
Notes and correspondence regarding MacKinnon's application for the vacancy on the 8th District Court that was ultimately filled by Harry Blackmun.
Correspondence regarding a disability claim against the U.S. Post Office.
MacKinnon campaigned for the state governorship on the Republican ticket but lost to incumbent Orville Freeman. His "STAR" campaign program consisted of four points: schools, tax reform, agriculture, and racketeer removal. Files contained in this series include information regarding campaign management, specific policy topics, candidates for other political offices, and state and national legislation. Correspondence, news clippings, a great many informational and statistical publications, MacKinnon's speeches, issues memoranda, and position statements are all included. Topical files, such as those regarding Gerald Connelly, Walter Cramond, Benjamin Dranow, James Hoffa, the Teamsters Union, and the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company, pertain to cases MacKinnon investigated while U.S. District Attorney. MacKinnon used these cases during his campaign to showcase his determination in removing the influence of racketeers from state government and labor.
Correspondence regarding MacKinnon's debate with Freeman and a copy of the proceedings of the Federation's first constitutional convention (1956).
Includes various statistical information and printed material from the University of Minnesota and the Agricultural Extension Service. Also includes a memorandum detailing MacKinnon's agricultural policy.
Speech by the chairman of U.S. Steel Corp. to the Minnesota Editorial Association
An advertising and public relations proposal and a budget plan for the Republican State Central Committee.
Includes samples circulated by the Republican Volunteer Committee for Governor specifically pertaining to MacKinnon as well as literature prepared for other state and national races.
News clippings and comparative data on Minnesota voting behavior.
Contains a copy of the Communist Party's program of action for Minnesota, the report and recommendations of the American Bar Association's Special Committee on Communist Tactics, Strategy, and Objectives, a reprint of "Civil Rights and Civil Liberties" by Edwin J. Lukas and Theodore Leskes, and MacKinnon's speech talking points.
Includes correspondence, a statement by Alex DeGoode regarding Connelly's relationship with Rocky Lupino, and a statement given by James R. Hoffa to the Internal Revenue Service regarding union funds paid to Connelly. Also includes news clippings, a 1953 photograph showing Lupino, John Azzone and Tony Schullo on a fishing trip, photographs of a postcard sent to Connelly by Lupino while in a South Carolina prison, and notes regarding a connection between Connelly and Miles Lord.
Memoranda, news clippings, family background information, criminal case proceedings, and notes regarding Cramond's criminal convictions and naturalization. Also includes correspondence between MacKinnon, Cramond, and Carpenters Local No. 7 regarding statements MacKinnon made about Cramond and the Central Labor Union's endorsement of Freeman.
A report by the operating director of the Chicago Crime Commission.
Includes meeting minutes and a report of the Interim Commission on Housing and Segregation Practices.
News clippings regarding Dranow's disappearance while wanted for questioning before the McClellan Committee.
Includes correspondence, speech texts, and various printed
materials including statements by MacKinnon and Freeman published by in the
Contains a pamphlet on the Bureau's services and proceedings before the House Subcommittee on Appropriations regarding 1956 budget requests.
News clippings, speech text, and background materials on MacKinnon's opponent for the Republican endorsement.
News clippings, speeches, and notes and memoranda regarding Freeman's administrative record. Also includes a post election letter MacKinnon wrote to Freeman regarding proposed legislation to control multiple ownership of liquor licenses.
Includes statistics and reports issued by the Automobile Manufacturers Association, the Minnesota Highway Study Commission, the Citizens League, the Hennepin County Highway Department, and others.
Includes news clippings and the article "The World of Jimmy
Hoffa" published in
Includes MacKinnon's statement and informational circulars by the League of Minnesota Municipalities and the League of Women Voters.
Correspondence and excerpts from remarks made by executive vice president, Albert L. Williams, concerning the company's decision to build a new plant in Rochester.
Correspondence regarding the Council's objections to the Freeman administration.
Campaign literature, correspondence, and a report on election procedures in St. Louis relevant to Kennedy's 1956 campaign for state attorney general.
Includes a synopsis of remarks MacKinnon made before the state bar concerning prosecutions under federal labor laws, bills intended to amend the Labor Management Relations Act, and news clippings regarding the death of S. 3974, a bill introduced by senators John F. Kennedy and Irving M. Ives.
Thank-you letters to MacKinnon's contributors.
Receipts, statements, and filing reports.
Campaign correspondence to University of Minnesota alumni.
Includes issues-related correspondence, research memoranda, an organizational chart, a biographical profile, press statements, Republican National Committee analyses of Democratic spending, and news clippings.
Contains results of two polls conducted North Star Surveys, a public relations analysis of the first poll conducted by Zeuthen, Thomas & Hulbert, a political scientist's interpretation of the Zeuthen analysis, and news clippings.
Negative correspondence and a copy of the smear sheet distributed by the MacKinnon for Governor volunteer committee that attacked the Freeman record.
Research memoranda and speech suggestions,
Includes a copy of a speech MacKinnon made to the County Attorneys Association in 1953.
Includes letters of appreciation to MacKinnon's district representatives and an organizational plan for his volunteer committee.
Includes a printer's mock up for campaign literature and a press release of MacKinnon's radio speech that outlined his STAR program.
Includes a plan of action and printed material related to the telephone drive conducted by the campaign's Women's Action Committee.
Contains formal portraits from college years [1929?], Minnesota legislature 1939, naval service 1945, congressional years 1946-1947, and Minnesota gubernatorial campaign. Also includes some pictures from Stassen's presidential campaigns, 1948 and 1952.
Includes press releases, news clippings, and a formal portrait of Elizabeth Davis MacKinnon with daughter Catharine and infant son James.
Includes correspondence, statistics, and news clippings.
Includes a statement of expenditures relative to a charge
that Freeman spent centennial funds to promote his campaign by announcing his
candidacy on Dave Garroway's
Research memoranda on Durox of Minnesota and Sun Ray Savings and Loan Association.
Notes, memoranda, and news clippings regarding Nehotte, chairman of the Hennepin County DFL and union official.
Personal correspondence, speech excerpts, and news clippings.
Correspondence, notes, and a synopsis of MacKinnon's 1956 presentation about federal labor law prosecutions before the state bar association, a statement regarding Freeman and the Kid Cann liquor syndicate, and a statement concerning Connelly and Lupino. Also includes the judgements and commitments of Connelly, Brennan, and others convicted in the Archer Daniels Midland strike settlement case as well as the sentencing statement made by Judge Edward Devitt.
Includes a speaker's handbook and publicity suggestions.
Includes news clippings and a pamphlet containing Joseph P. Kamp's article "Meet the Man Who Plans to Rule America."
Contains material pertaining to a church school construction program including minutes of the Stewardship Committee and the Finance Committee of which Mrs. MacKinnon was a member.
Correspondence with attachments regarding the state's passage of the Small Loan Act in 1939 when MacKinnon was a legislator.
Correspondence regarding the administration of the prison, Warden Douglas Rigg, and Assistant Factory Manager Joseph Pentek.
Includes memoranda, research notes, an Oliver Mining Division map of the Mesabi iron range, Republican press releases, and news clippings. Also includes correspondence from Duluth attorney W. K. Montague with attached legislative interim commission minutes and testimony regarding Governor Freeman's increased iron ore tax program.
Includes correspondence, biennial reports of the Minnesota Department of Taxation, a 1956 report of the Governor's Tax Study Commission, research statistics, press releases distributed by the Taxpayers Association, and news clippings.
Includes research memoranda, a statement of MacKinnon's tax plan, a Republican platform press release, and informational material distributed by the Taxpayers Association.
Typed commentary about reactions to the Republican tax program from groups such as the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, commercial clubs, chambers of commerce, and county-level branches of the Taxpayers Associations.
Includes the tax commissioner's analysis of the state's 1954 income tax, MacKinnon's speech calling for a union members' rights commission, talking points regarding his administration of the district attorney's office, and research memoranda.
Includes news clippings regarding hearings and testimony before the Senate Committee investigating labor racketeering headed by John McClellan.
Contains typescripts of MacKinnon's broadcast speeches and announcements. Included is a script wherein he describes the aid he gave to Nixon in procuring evidence of the typewriter used by Alger Hiss.
News clippings regarding the company's management, liquidation of assets, and rate increase hearings before the Railroad and Warehouse Commission.
Contains a booklet by Herbert Brownell detailing the organization and activities of the department.
Includes speeches made by Herbert Brownell (Attorney General), Warren Olney (Assistant Attorney General), William P. Rogers (Deputy Attorney General) and others on the topics of civil rights, self-incrimination, communism and the Smith Act, organized crime, tax evasion, racketeering, the Clayton Act, dual sovereignty, and the Supreme Court.
Correspondence, memoranda, and H.F. 790 regarding the establishment of employee welfare funds.
During the 1968 presidential campaign MacKinnon was general counsel and vice president for Investors Diversified Services. He also served as a member of Nixon's advisory group. This set of files contains outgoing and incoming correspondence, materials distributed by the Nixon for President Committee, a proposed crime policy program, press releases, and Nixon speech texts. MacKinnon's numerous letters to Nixon gave advice on the organization and execution of his campaign. There are also many letters addressed to Rose Mary Woods, Nixon's secretary, who routed MacKinnon's suggestions and attached materials to the appropriate people. Subject matter includes MacKinnon's evaluations of the Minnesota, Oregon, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Texas campaigns, analyses of grass roots opinion, general political advice, suggestions for strategies against Hubert H. Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy and George Wallace, and financial information. MacKinnon paid particular attention to winning the support of both the National Milk Producers Federation and the Farmers Union Terminal Association. Also included are newsletters of the Minnesota Citizens for Nixon/Agnew, post-election recommendations for the Nixon administration, and information sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding Nixon's service on the board of directors of Investors Mutual (1964-1968).
Includes a pamphlet containing a statement Nixon made
regarding criminal possession of firearms and an analysis of the Supreme Court
decisions in the cases of
Includes correspondence and a typescript related to Nixon's appearance at an IDS sales conference. Also includes several speeches Nixon made regarding Viet Nam.
This series contains the personal subject files MacKinnon kept while an appellate judge on the bench of the District of Columbia. Many of the files demonstrate his long-standing interest in organized crime and labor rackets. There are files on Tommy Banks, Kid Cann, and Jimmy Hoffa as well as files on a number of other notorious gangland figures. There are also files documenting his continued interest in the Republican Party and the careers of Warren Burger, Orville Freeman, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, and Harold Stassen. Files particularly relevant to MacKinnon's position on the circuit bench include information regarding his appointment, installation, and 25-year anniversary; correspondence with his former law clerks; and an outline for a proposed autobiography. This section also includes numerous materials pertaining to football including a Hall of Fame nomination that details MacKinnon's college record.
Contains 1956 correspondence, notes, copies of a bookkeeping
code index, and news clippings. Also includes a 1976 letter to the editor of
the
Congratulatory correspondence and a reservation list for MacKinnon's 25th anniversary on the circuit bench.
Includes MacKinnon's oath, a transcript of the installation session, a report of the proceedings before the nominations subcommittee, and biographical data containing MacKinnon's estimation of his most important litigation.
Correspondence and notes regarding an attempt by George K. Tuttle on behalf of Kenneth Ralph Harter to bribe MacKinnon while he was U.S. District Attorney.
Correspondence and notes regarding the need for a bill to relieve the immigration status of the family of a former general of the Iranian army.
Correspondence, memoranda, appellate brief, and investigative notes regarding Bank's conviction for tax evasion.
Correspondence, IDS board of directors meeting minutes, Senate hearings transcripts, and news clippings regarding MacKinnon's offer of the IDS presidency to Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Budge.
Correspondence concerning a train trip from Denver to Billings for the purpose of showcasing the railroad's properties and the Powder River Basin coal operation.
A history of the church written by MacKinnon.
An annual epistle sent to MacKinnon's law clerks highlighting current court cases, appeals to the Supreme Court, MacKinnon's activities on court committees, the activities of other judges, and the activities of former and current clerks for each year. Also includes some personal data regarding the MacKinnon family.
Correspondence, memoranda, investigative notes, grand jury transcripts, and news clippings regarding the bankruptcy of Cohen's American Footwear Company.
The most regular correspondents include Thomas Campbell, a Stanford University professor and congressman, and Gerald Harper of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Also includes a copy of a 1992 letter Jeffrey L. McCormick of Robinson, Donovan, Madden & Barry wrote to James R. DeGiacomo of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers regarding the perpetuity of attorney-client privilege in the firm's case files pertaining to Lizzie Borden.
Includes a copy of DeGoode's 1958 statement regarding Gerald Connelly's relationship to Rocky Lupino and a copy of DeGoode's arrest record.
Correspondence and nomination to induct MacKinnon as a member of the Hall of Fame. The nomination includes a summary of MacKinnon's college football record and his later public service achievements.
Includes correspondence related to a Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan to the James River Corporation, a MacKinnon gubernatorial campaign speech regarding political patronage in the civil service of Freeman's administration, and a 1977 memorandum regarding Freeman's failure to investigate Kid Cann's bookkeeping.
Correspondence and drafts related to Friendly's research for his book regarding Jay Near, his scandal sheet, and the 1925 Minnesota newspaper gag law.
A request made of the Justice Department for MacKinnon's 1961 letter to Robert F. Kennedy recommending Jim Neal as prosecutor in the Test Fleet conspiracy case, MacKinnon's 1960 internal Department of Justice memoranda requesting an FBI interview of Vaughan B. Connelly, and the subsequent FBI/Connelly interview that led to the convictions of Hoffa and Benjamin Dranow. The file contains correspondence related to the request and a copy of the Connelly interview. The requested 1960-1961 correspondence was not located by the Justice Department but copies of the outgoing memoranda are in MacKinnon's Hoffa file on Benjamin Dranow and his file on Neal.
An unfulfilled request for correspondence between MacKinnon and Herbert Brownell related to the underworld influence of Tommy Banks.
A request by MacKinnon to view his FBI file.
Contains a letter from the Department of Justice noting that Paul Pflueger of the Church of Scientology requested MacKinnon's pre-appointment records. The file also includes copies of those items intended for release.
Contains correspondence, FBI files, and MacKinnon's notes regarding Gate's relationship with Kid Cann and Hubert H. Humphrey.
Includes internal memoranda, a copy of the grand jury indictment against Dranow, investigative notes, and news clippings. Also includes a 1968 letter from Dranow.
News clippings regarding Hoffa's election as president of the Teamsters and an anonymous letter responding to MacKinnon's gubernatorial campaign charge that labor bosses controlled DFL members.
Contains internal memoranda MacKinnon wrote while special assistant to the U.S. attorney, later correspondence regarding the investigation and prosecution of the Test Fleet bribery case that eventually resulted in Hoffa's jury tampering and pension fraud convictions, and a copy of the grand jury indictments against Hoffa. Some of the correspondence includes counsel MacKinnon gave to James Neal regarding lines of questioning.
Contains reminiscent correspondence with principals associated in the prosecution of this case as well as MacKinnon's 1976 FOIA request for copies of records related to his 1960-1961 investigation. Copies of Justice Department records are included.
Correspondence, investigative notes, and press clippings linking Freddie Gates and Joseph Robie to Humphrey's suspected silent partnership of the Miami Dolphins.
Notes, court documents, and news clippings related to
Correspondence regarding default on a loan made by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
Contains notes regarding various bank robberies, Jack Peifer, Kid Cann, and the Urschel, Hamm, and Bremer kidnappings gleaned from Karpis' autobiography.
Includes information on Cann, Banks, Theodore H. Feig, the liquor syndicate, the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company, and tax evasion contained in MacKinnon's memoranda with the Department of Justice while district attorney. Also includes a 1988 letter from Walter Liggett's daughter Marda Woodbury regarding her research about his murder.
Includes press releases, speech texts of Freeman and MacKinnon, investigative notes, copies of grand jury indictments, letters from anonymous informants, correspondence with the Justice Department, and news clippings regarding Blumenfeld's liquor syndicate, his White Slave Traffic Act violations, and his involvement with the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company. Many of the materials pertain to MacKinnon's campaign charges that Governor Freeman and state attorney general Miles Lord assisted, rather than prosecuted, the liquor syndicate.
Includes 1990 correspondence with Bradford Snell regarding research on rapid transit dealings, news clippings of Cann's obituaries, clippings about Blumenfeld's relationship to the financing of Miami Beach hotels, copies of the 1962 appellate opinion remanding the liquor tax fraud cases back to the district court for acquittal, and materials related to Minneapolis liquor licenses and Teamsters contracts with liquor establishments.
Includes correspondence with Judge Devitt regarding the appellate court's acquittal of the liquor syndicate's tax fraud convictions as well as a copy of MacKinnon's testimony in that case before the District Court.
Legislative campaign literature.
Includes MacKinnon's query and the Treasury Department's response regarding disclosure of Isadore Blumenfeld's 1941-1947 income tax settlements.
Reports, correspondence, a deposition, and other materials related to a personal injury suit resulting from an automobile accident MacKinnon caused.
Regarding MacKinnon's resignation as U.S. district attorney.
Correspondence regarding Doc (Clarence W.) Spears and a nomination of MacKinnon for the Hall of Fame.
Correspondence with biographical data, a biographical book proposal, and anecdotes related to MacKinnon's part in the convictions of Hiss, Banks, and Hoffa; the campaigns of Stassen, Eisenhower, and Nixon; and MacKinnon's political career.
Notes and trial memoranda regarding a state of Virginia traffic violation.
Correspondence concerning the contested settlement of Henry McKnight's estate,
Drafts, notes, correspondence, and background materials related to a lecture on the constitutional separation of powers and its authorities for congressional impeachments and presidential impoundments given to the political science department of Mankato State College. The lecture includes comment on the court's decision in Nixon v. Sirica.
Contains a copy of the proceedings associated with the presentation of MacKinnon's portrait to the Court of Appeals.
Contains an anonymous letter purporting Millington's knowledge of Kid Cann's financing of Humphrey's senatorial campaign.
Notes, correspondence, and reports regarding settlements in Minnesota tax fraud cases, 1946-1952, related to MacKinnon's investigation of Theodore H. Feig.
Correspondence with enclosed articles by Twin Cities author Paul Maccabee.
Notes and clippings.
Contains press developments reports distributed by the Eisenhower-Nixon Research Service regarding Nixon's viability in the 1952 vice-presidential campaign immediately following the discovery of Nixon's senatorial campaign expense fund.
Correspondence and background materials related to O'Donnell's research regarding Humphrey's finances and his connection to Freddie Gates.
Notes, correspondence, and background material pertaining to
MacKinnon's participation in a conference discussing the constitutionality of
the one house veto following the
Notes, correspondence, and press clippings related to the 1968 campaign, Defense Secretary Clark Clifford, Humphrey, and Nixon's role with IDS.
Includes information on MacKinnon genealogy.
Correspondence concerning infringement of a Scottish company's trademarks.
Correspondence with Orville Pung, Minnesota Commissioner of Corrections, concerning the construction of commitment facilities at Moose Lake.
Notes and memoranda regarding labor racketeering and Banks, Connelly, Hoffa, Dranow, Brennan, and others. Also includes information related to Humphrey and the burglary of Freddie Gates' house immediately following Gate's death.
Notes, reports, and receipts related to MacKinnon's lobbying activities on behalf of IDS.
Correspondence related to the 60th reunion of the University of Minnesota football teams coached by Doc Spears, 1925-1929. Also includes programs of the University's 1927 "M" Banquet and the 1926 homecoming game between Michigan and Minnesota.
Correspondence and news clippings regarding Bradbury Robinson, originator of the forward pass.
News clippings and memoranda regarding Clark's record and Nixon's desire to replace him as attorney general.
Correspondence and court transcripts regarding a parole recommendation for Taylor who was sentenced in 1956 for murdering Kenneth Lindberg in connection with the robbery of a Thief River Falls bank.
Correspondence and mock court documents regarding an opinion written by MacKinnon to reverse the score in a Washington Redskins/St. Louis Cardinals game.
Primarily correspondence between Walsh and MacKinnon while both were in private practice, 1949-1953. Also includes later correspondence and additional materials concerning Walsh's senior judicial status and death. One file appears to have been a file originally kept by Walsh. Walsh and MacKinnon first knew each other as college roommates, law school classmates, and football team members.
Transcript of MacKinnon's responses to an interview with Evan Thomas concerning William's role as defense counsel in the bribery case against Archer Daniels Midland and the Teamsters.
Includes letters from Harry Berglund, U.S. Marshal, with attached copies of admission summaries from Stillwater State Prison and the trial notes of Ramsey County attorney James Lynch. Also includes correspondence and an interview memorandum with Gerald Mullin concerning efforts to parole Young and Schaefer.
MacKinnon was 62 years old when President Nixon nominated him on April 23, 1969 to the vacancy left by Charles Fahy on the Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Circuit. The Senate confirmed his appointment on May 8, 1969 and he was sworn in on June 16, 1969. MacKinnon took senior status on May 20, 1983 at age 77 after 14 years of full active service and continued to serve on the court for another 13 years until his death in May of 1995. During that time he served as presiding judge of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (1979-1982), went to Milan as a delegate to the 7th United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (1985), was designated by the Chief Justice as presiding judge of the special division of the Court of Appeals for the appointment of independent counsels (1985-1992), and was appointed by President Reagan as a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission (1985-1991).
The Court of Appeals series comprise the largest portion of MacKinnon's papers. The most significant of this portion are the case files that constitute almost ninety percent of this series and that represent every appeal brought before MacKinnon. These files provide a complete record of MacKinnon's opinions and also provide a rare inside look at the overall decision-making process of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals during the period 1969-1984. MacKinnon's caseload decreased when he was appointed to work on independent counsel and sentencing guideline matters in 1985.
Cases included by these files cover a wide range of civil and
criminal matters of procedural and constitutional law. In addition to these
types of cases MacKinnon also sat on numerous cases involving federal
regulatory law as well as cases involving federal agencies or branches of the
federal government. Most notable among these federal cases were the Alaska
pipeline case (
Other outstanding features of this series are the files that document MacKinnon's tenure on the division that appointed special prosecutors at the request of the U.S. Attorney General to investigate governmental abuses of power and the commission files that document MacKinnon's role in the development and implementation of federal sentencing guidelines. Also included within this portion are general topical files pertaining to MacKinnon's chambers and materials from judicial conferences. No materials from MacKinnon's service as presiding judge of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (1979-1982) are evident in the collection.
The case files are arranged by principal docket number and include bench memoranda; MacKinnon's notes taken during oral arguments; summaries of bench conferences; research notes and background material; voting sheets and memoranda; disposition memoranda; correspondence from litigants, their counsel, and the public; and news clippings. The files also include MacKinnon's opinions in their first handwritten draft, typed redraft, galley, final proof, and printed slip form as well as the opinions drafted and circulated by other judges. The opinions are often accompanied by correspondence between MacKinnon and other judges.
These materials offer rich documentation of the reasoning behind varying opinions and demonstrate how the judges negotiated their differences. In addition, the files can reveal as much about MacKinnon as they can about the other members of the Court. Some of the judges with whom MacKinnon sat later went on to become justices of the U. S. Supreme Court including Robert Bork, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Anthony Scalia. Other judges reflected by the case files include Harry T. Edwards, Oliver Gasch, Harold Leventhal, Abner Mikva, Roger Robb, Aubrey E. Robinson, Spottswood W. Robinson, Kenneth Starr, Edward A. Tamm, Patricia Wald, and J. Skelly Wright.
Some of the case files also contain correspondence between MacKinnon, former law clerks, law professors, and others regarding issued opinions. For the majority of the cases, trial briefs are not included. Additional docket numbers for consolidated cases in which more than one appeal was heard at the same time are listed in parenthesis following the principal name of the case. Eighteen civil actions appearing at the end of the docketed set had originally been set aside by MacKinnon for a book project.
Indexes to the cases are divided into two sets: one set for appeals in which MacKinnon wrote an opinion; the second set for cases in which MacKinnon did not write an opinion but served as a member of the judicial panel. Both sets consist of an individual 3x5 card for each case heard by MacKinnon. The cards are filed by the name of the appellant and include the title of the case, the docket number(s), the date of oral argument, the judges assigned to the panel that heard the case, the judges that wrote opinions, the date the decision was delivered, a citation if the opinion was published, and later actions if the case was further appealed to the Supreme Court. Some cards also include brief summaries of judgments and their impact on other cases.
The first opinion MacKinnon authored concerned the consolidated
appeal of two women whose applications to proceed as paupers in divorce
proceedings were denied by the district court (Case No. 22266,
High profile criminal cases in which MacKinnon issued opinions
included
The environmental case that probably gained the most widespread
attention was the Alaska pipeline case of
Notable first amendment cases included
Despite the personal relationship between MacKinnon and Nixon,
MacKinnon did not recuse himself from any appeals stemming from the Watergate
scandal. Those cases included the following:
Other notable cases included the Panama Canal treaty case of
Contents of each folder filed in reverse chronological order.