January 2009

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In Memoriam: Edmund N. "Ned" Carpenter II

Edmund Nelson “Ned” Carpenter, II, has died at age 87 after a three-year battle with pulmonary fibrosis.  

Ned Carpenter, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Princeton University in 1943 and a Harvard Law School graduate in 1948, was a decorated U.S. Army veteran from both World War II and the Korean Conflict. His illustrious legal career began in 1949 with the Wilmington, Delaware, firm Richards, Layton & Finger, from where he retired in 1991. He was a fellow in both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International College of Trial Lawyers. He served as Deputy Attorney General for the State of Delaware in 1953-54 and as Special Deputy Attorney General from 1960-62. Carpenter served as President of the Delaware Bar Association from 1971-72.  

Carpenter’s long and close relationship with the American Judicature Society is marked by his joining the AJS Board of Directors in 1974. In 1981 he was elected to a two-year term as President of AJS, then a 30,000-member organization. He later was named to the Honorary Board of the Society. Much more than a strong advocate in the courtroom, Carpenter worked to defend judges and the legal system from unwarranted public criticism. He was a strong supporter of appointing judges through merit selection rather than by contested elections. 

Gordon Doerfer, President of the American Judicature Society, said Carpenter “was instrumental in securing the funding for the Center for Judicial Conduct Organizations (now known as the Center for Judicial Ethics) when it was established in 1977. Through Good Samaritan, Inc., Mr. Carpenter caused a number of projects for the Center to become reality.” 

Carpenter was presented the American Judicature Society's Justice Award in 1991.  

Ned Carpenter’s foresight on social policy, his many professional accomplishments, and his dedication to the fair administration of justice only begin to describe the man who so justly deserved the accolades he received, the respect of his peers he earned, and the appreciation of all whose lives he touched. 

A lengthy tribute to Ned Carpenter and review of his many contributions to the work of AJS will appear in the January-February 2009 issue of Judicature, the journal of the American Judicature Society.