[1][2] Born in New Orleans "into a family prominent in the legal profession", McCaleb attended the public schools of his native city, as well as Ferrell's School for Boys and Staunton Military Academy in Virginia.
[3] He practiced law in his father's firm from 1920 to 1924, and was than an assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1924 to 1925.
He temporarily served on the Supreme Court from May 8, 1941 to January 1, 1943, filling the unexpired term of John R. Land, who had died.
McCaleb was elected without opposition to a full term on the court in his own right in 1946, and subsequently ran unopposed for reelection in 1960.
[3] As a justice, McCaleb "criticized judges whose decisions are influenced by their own emotions or prejudices",[4] and during his brief tenure as Chief Justice he "dramatically reduced delay in [the] criminal appeals docket".