"[4] Carnes was nominated by President George H. W. Bush on January 27, 1992, for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to a seat vacated by Judge Frank Minis Johnson.

[1] To Carnes' opponents, he was a poor choice to succeed Judge Johnson, a hero of the civil rights movement who had declared that the segregated buses of Montgomery, Alabama were illegal.

[3] Critics blasted Carnes for defending Alabama prosecutors accused of systematically excluding blacks from death penalty trial juries.

Stephen Bright, Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, testified against the nomination and lambasted the Senate's decision to confirm Carnes.

[1] He assumed office on October 2, 1992, and served as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from August 1, 2013, to June 2, 2020.