Charles McKinney Nice Papers Inventory (#4552)
Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Contact Information:
- Manuscripts Department
- CB#3926, Wilson Library
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
- Phone: 919/962-1345
- Fax: 919/962-3594
- Email: mss@email.unc.edu
- URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
- Processed by
- Shayera D. Tangri
- Date Completed
- April 2000
- Encoded by
- Shayera D. Tangri
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Descriptive Summary Including Abstract
- Title
- Charles McKinney Nice Papers (#4552) 1939-1999
- Creator
- Nice, Charles McKinney, 1919- .
- Extent
-
- About 800 items (2.0 linear feet)
- Repository
- Southern Historical Collection
- Abstract
- Charles McKinney Nice of Birmingham, Ala., served in the Alabama House of Representatives, 1954-1958; as circuit court judge, 1974-1982; and, after that, as family court judge until his retirement in 1988. The collection consists of correspondence, writings, and other materials, chiefly relating to Nice and his judicial career. Some materials document Nice's stands against race discrimination as a legislator and against capital punishment as a judge. Correspondence, largely 1970s and 1980s, includes personal and professional letters written and received by Nice, who was a prolific letter writer with interests in history and politics. Included are letters, chiefly about politics, from Terry Sanford, Alabama politicians, and others. Most letters are from Nice's tenure a circuit court judge in Jefferson County, Ala. Writings include copies of journals Nice wrote throughout his lifetime. Most of the journals contain reminisces about cases he handled and about the end of his career on the bench. Also included are contemplatory writings by Nice about politics and his time in the Alabama legislature. The bulk of the newspaper clippings are about judicial cases, including some relating to death penalty cases over which he presided. Also included are election materials, speech notices, and genealogy materials chiefly relating to the Nice and McKinney families.
Administrative Information
- Usage Restrictions
- Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
- Provenance
- Received from Charles McKinney Nice of Birmingham, Ala., beginning in 1990 (Acc. 90047, 90125, 90140, 90141, 90145, 90147, 91025, 91129, 92058, 92146, 94134, 98486).
Online Catalog Terms
- Alabama--Politics and government--1951- .
- Alabama--Race relations.
- Capital punishment--Alabama.
- Courts--Alabama.
- Family--Alabama--Social life and customs.
- Judges--Alabama.
- Legislators--Alabama.
- Nice, Charles McKinney, 1919- .
- McKinney family.
- Nice family.
- Politicians--Alabama.
- Sanford, Terry, 1917- .
Biographical Note
Charles McKinney Nice was born in Birmingham, Ala., in December 1919, the son of Dr. Charles M. and Helen Adams Nice. He grew up in Birmingham and attended Ramsey High School. He received an A.B. degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1942. In 1948, he received an LIB degree from the University of Alabama Law School.
From 1950 until 1953, Nice was law clerk to a United States district judge. In 1954, Nice was elected to the Alabama state legislature. He served until 1958. After his time in the legislature, Nice served as an acting judge in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, as legal counsel for Southern Natural Gas, as legal counsel to Operation New Birmingham, assistant United States attorney for the northern district of Alabama, and as associate counsel for the University of Alabama. In 1971, Nice was appointed to a judgeship and was elected Jefferson County circuit judge in 1976. When his term expired in 1982, he transferred to the District Family Court. He retired from that position in 1988.
Nice married Sadie Claire Mapes of Birmingham in 1954. They had two sons.
Back to TopCollection Overview
Correspondence, writings, and other materials, chiefly relating to Charles McKinney Nice and his judicial career. Some materials document Nice's stands against race discrimination as a legislator and against capital punishment as a judge. Correspondence, largely 1970s and 1980s, includes personal and professional letters written and received by Nice, who was a prolific letter writer with interests in history and politics. Included are letters, chiefly about politics, from Terry Sanford, Alabama politicians, and others. Most letters are from Nice's tenure a circuit court judge in Jefferson County, Ala. Also included are letters of endorsement from Nice's colleagues during judicial elections. Writings include copies of journals Nice wrote throughout his lifetime. Most of the journals contain reminisces about cases he handled and about the end of his career on the bench. Also included are contemplatory writings by Nice about politics and his time in the Alabama legislature. The bulk of the newspaper clippings are about judicial cases, including some relating to death penalty cases over which he presided. Also included are election materials, speech notices, and genealogy materials chiefly relating to the Nice and McKinney families.
Back to TopOrganization of Collection
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1. Correspondence
2. Writings
3. Newspaper Clippings
4. Collected Materials
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Series Descriptions
1. Correspondence, 1939-1988.
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2. Writings, 1934-1999.
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3. Newspaper Clippings, 1963-1990.
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4. Collected Materials, 1950-1980.
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Related Collections
- See also the Charles McKinney Nice, Jr., papers at the W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, University of Alabama.