Born on March 11, 1904, in Santa Barbara, California, Carter received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Pomona College in 1924.

He was a teacher at the Police School of the Los Angeles Board of Education in California from 1934 to 1935.

He was Chief Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1943 to 1946.

[1] Carter was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on November 6, 1967, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by Judge Gilbert H. Jertberg.

His service was terminated on November 18, 1979, due to his death in La Jolla, California.