Martin, however, did dispel some of that confusion when he was charged with public intoxication for an incident in which he urinated on a bank teller window in downtown Madison in broad daylight.

Fairchild dismissed the suit after securing sworn testimony from Telfer that African Americans would be welcomed at either public pool.

He issued an opinion finding that a then-popular Baseball tally card which awarded prizes based on scores was a form of illegal gambling; he asserted the right of the state government to set standards for counties administering benefits funded jointly by the state and federal government, where many counties were currently not meeting the standards; he supported Socialist Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler's rent control rules; he opined that public school release for religious instruction of Catholic students was a violation of the Constitution of Wisconsin.

His most controversial decision, however, was his opinion finding that several radio and television programs which gave away prizes to the audience constituted a form of illegal gambling.

[3] In 1950, rather than running for re-election as Attorney General, Fairchild chose to challenge incumbent Republican United States Senator Alexander Wiley, who was seeking a third term.

He also took an early stand against Wisconsin's junior senator, Joseph McCarthy, who had, that year, begun making accusations of communist infiltration of the United States government.

Nevertheless, his campaign had been noticed, and, in 1951, he was nominated by President Truman to become United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Several prominent Democrats considered running, including Gaylord Nelson, Jim Doyle Sr., and Henry S. Reuss.

Nelson and Doyle eventually bowed out of the contest in 1951, leaving Reuss, a previously unsuccessful candidate for Milwaukee Mayor and Wisconsin Attorney General.

[1] The campaign to defeat McCarthy became a focus of attention from the national Democratic Party, as presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson and U.S.

McCarthy went onto his consequential second term, which saw him chair the Senate Government Affairs Committee and reach the height of his power.

Fairchild returned to private law practice, forming a partnership with Floyd Kops and Irv Charne in Milwaukee.

In 1956, his father Edward, who was then Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, decided that he would retire at the end of his term in January, 1957.

[1] Fairchild was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 11, 1966, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated by Judge F. Ryan Duffy.