George MacKinnon

Who was George MacKinnon?

George Edward MacKinnon was appointed by President Nixon to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in May 1969, where he served until his death in 1995. Judge MacKinnon is also the father of feminist legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon.

According to Judge Harry T. Edwards, Judge MacKinnon was "a real character: he was someone who was not easily dissuaded from his positions, who always aimed to get his way, and, yet, who always enjoyed his colleagues and fostered collegiality on the court." Judge MacKinnon was also known as a conservative and once described as "so far right he makes Goldwater look like George McGovern," although this may have been hyperbole.

Thomas J. Campbell, who once worked as a clerk for Judge MacKinnon, has written:

Judge MacKinnon inspired by words. He inspired by his life's deeds. But he inspired most of all by what came to him, naturally. That he'd always introduce himself as George, not Judge. That he would call his wife on his private phone line, so that the government would not have to pay whatever marginal cost one phone call might represent.