Carl Hatch

Carl Atwood Hatch
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
In office January 21, 1949 – April 5, 1963
Appointed by	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Colin Neblett
Succeeded by	Harry Vearle Payne
United States Senator from New Mexico
In office October 10, 1933 – January 3, 1949
Preceded by	Sam G. Bratton
Succeeded by	Clinton Presba Anderson
Personal details
Born	November 27, 1889 Kirwin, Kansas
Died	September 15, 1963 (aged 73) Albuquerque, New Mexico
Political party	Democratic

Carl Atwood Hatch (November 27, 1889 – September 15, 1963) was a Democratic Party politician from New Mexico who represented New Mexico in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1949, and was later a United States federal judge.

Biography

Hatch was born in Kirwin, Kansas, and attended public schools in Kansas and Oklahoma. In 1912 he received an LL.B. from Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University and in that year he was also admitted to the bar, whereupon he began practice in Eldorado, Oklahoma. In 1916 he moved to Clovis, New Mexico, where he continued his practice; from 1917 to 1918 he served as the state's assistant attorney general. He was the state collector of internal revenue from 1919 to 1921. From 1923 to 1929 Hatch served as the district judge of the ninth judicial district of New Mexico; from 1930 to 1933 he was a member of the state board of bar examiners.

In 1933, he was appointed to fill out the U.S. Senate term of Sam G. Bratton, who had resigned to accept a judicial post; he was elected in his own right in 1934, and reelected in 1936 and 1942. He served until 1949, choosing not to be renominated in 1948. He is best remembered for authoring the Hatch Act of 1939 and 1940, which served to prevent federal employees from engaging in political activity. He also served as the chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, and served on the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys.

On January 13, 1949, Hatch was nominated by President Harry S Truman to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico vacated by Colin Neblett. Hatch was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 17, 1949, and received commission on January 21, 1949. He served as chief judge from 1954 to 1963, assuming senior status on April 5, 1963. He continued serving in that capacity until his death. He died in Albuquerque, and is interred in Fairview Park Cemetery.

See also

• Hatch Act of 1939

Further reading

• Carl Hatch at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Carl Hatch at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Carl A. Hatch Collection at the Carl Albert Center