John Emmett Carland

Who was John Emmett Carland?

John Emmett Carland was a United States federal judge.

Born in Oswego County, New York, Carland attended the University of Michigan, and read law in 1877 to enter the Bar. He entered private practice in Bismarck, in what was then Dakota Territory, and was also city attorney of Bismarck and county attorney of Burleigh County. He was the U.S. Attorney for the Dakota Territory from 1885 to 1888, and a Justice of the Dakota territorial Supreme Court in 1888 and 1889. Returning to private practice in Sioux Falls, South Dakota from 1889 to 1895, Carland was a delegate to the North Dakota state constitutional convention from Burleigh County in 1889, and also served as a special assistant to the U.S. attorney for the District of South Dakota.

On August 31, 1896, Carland received a recess appointment from President Grover Cleveland to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota vacated by Alonzo J. Edgerton. Formally nominated on December 8, 1896, Carland was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 15, 1896, and received his commission the same day. On December 12, 1910, Carland was nominated by President William H.