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William Kunstler From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search William Kunstler William Kunstler, c. 1989 Born William Moses Kunstler (1919-07-07)July 7, 1919 New York City Died September 4, 1995(1995-09-04) (aged 76) Manhattan, New York Citizenship American Occupation Lawyer, civil rights activist William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 September 4, 1995) was an American self-des cribed "radical lawyer" and civil rights activist, known for his politically unp opular clients.[1] Kunstler was a board member of the American Civil Liberties U nion (ACLU) and the co-founder of the Law Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) , the "leading gathering place for radical lawyers in the country".[2] Kunstler's defense of the "Chicago Seven" from 19691970 led The New York Times to label him "the country's most controversial and, perhaps, its best-known lawyer ..."[2] Kunstler is also well known for defending members of the Catonsville Ni ne, Black Panther Party, Weather Underground Organization, the Attica Prison rio ters, and the American Indian Movement.[2] He also won a de facto segregation ca se regarding the District of Columbia's public schools and "disinterred, singleh andedly" the concept of federal removal jurisdiction in the 1960s.[2] Kunstler r efused to defend right-wing groups such as the Minutemen, on the grounds that: " I only defend those whose goals I share. I'm not a lawyer for hire. I only defen d those I love."[2] He was a polarizing figure; many on the right wished to see him disbarred, while many on the left admired him as a "symbol of a certain kind of radical lawyer." [2] Even some other civil rights lawyers regarded Kunstler as a "publicity hound and a hit-and-run lawyer" who "brings cases on Page 1 and wins them on Page 68. "[2] Legal writer Sidney Zion quipped that Kunstler was "one of the few lawyers in town who knows how to talk to the press. His stories always check out and he' s not afraid to talk to you, and he's got credibilityalthough you've got to ask s ometimes, 'Bill, is it really true?'"[2] Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Civil rights career 2.1 Rise to prominence (19571964) 2.2 ACLU director (19641972) 2.3 "Chicago Seven" (19691972) 2.4 American Indian Movement (19731976) 2.5 Attica (19741976) 2.6 Assata Shakur (1977) 2.7 Collaboration with Kuby (19831995) 3 Representation of mobsters 4 Other work 5 Death and legacy 6 Bibliography 7 Pop culture references 8 Notes 9 References 10 External links Early life[edit]The son of a physician, Kunstler was born to a Jewish family in New York City and attended DeWitt Clinton High School.[3] He was educated at Yal e College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1941,[4] and Columbia University Law Sch ool from which he graduated in 1948. While in school, Kunstler was an avid poet, and represented Yale in the Glascock Prize competition at Mount Holyoke College . Kunstler served in the U.S. Army during World War II in the Pacific theater, att aining the rank of Major, and received the Bronze Star. While in the army, he wa s noted for his theatric portrayals in the Fort Monmouth Dramatic Association.[4 ] After his discharge from the Army he attended law school, was admitted to the ba r in New York in 1948 and began practicing law. Kunstler went through R.H. Macy' s executive training program in the late 1940s and practiced family and small bu siness law in the 1950s before entering civil rights litigation in the 1960s.[2] He was an associate professor of law at New York Law School (19501951). Kunstler won honorable mention for the National Legal Aid Association's press aw ard in 1957 for his series of radio broadcasts on WNEW, "The Law on Trial."[5] A t WNEW, Kunstler also conducted interviews on controversial topics, such as the Alger Hiss case, on a program called "Counterpoint."[6] Civil rights career[edit]Rise to prominence (19571964)[edit]Kunstler first made h eadlines in 1957 defending William Worthy, a correspondent for the Baltimore Afr o-American, who was one of forty-two Americans who had their passports seized af ter violating the State Department's travel ban on Communist China (after attend ing a Communist youth conference in Moscow).[7] Kunstler refused a State Departm ent compromise which would have returned Worthy's passport if he agreed to cease visiting Communist countries, a condition Worthy considered unconstitutional.[8 ] Kunstler played an important role as a civil rights lawyer in the 1960s, traveli ng to many of the segregated battlegrounds to work to free those who had been ja iled. Working on behalf of the ACLU, Kunstler defended the "Freedom Riders" in M ississippi in 1961.[9] Kunstler filed for a writ of habeas corpus with Sidney Mi ze, a federal judge in Biloxi, and appealed to the Fifth Circuit; he also filed similar pleas in state courts.[9] Judge Leon Hendrick in Hinds County refused Ku nstler's motion to cancel the mass appearance (involving hundreds of miles of tr avel) of all 187 convicted riders.[10] The riders were convicted in a bench tria l in Jackson and appealed to a county jury trial, where Kunstler argued that the county systematically discriminated against African-American jurors.[11] In 1962, Kunstler took part in efforts to integrate public parks and libraries i n Albany, Georgia.[12] Later that year, he published The Case for Courage (model ed on President Kennedy's Profiles in Courage) highlighting the efforts of other lawyers who risked their careers for controversial clients as well as similar a cts by public servants.[13] At the time of the publication, Kunstler was already well known for his work with the Freedom Riders, his book on the Caryl Chessman case, and his radio coverage of trials.[13] Kunstler also joined a group of law yers criticizing the application of Alabama's civil libel laws and spoke at a ra lly against HUAC.[14][15] Kunstler represented the first Title IX federal removal cases under the Civil Ri ghts Act of 1964: protesters at the 1964 New York World's Fair.In 1963, for the Gandhi Society of New York, Kunstler filed to remove the cases of more than 100 arrested African-American demonstrators from the Danville Corporation Court to t he Charlottesville District Court, under a Reconstruction Era statute.[16] Altho ugh the district judge remanded the cases to city court, he dissolved the city's injunction against demonstrations.[16] In doing so, Judge Thomas J. Michie reje cted a Justice Department amicus curiae brief urging the removal to create a tes t case for the statute.[16] Kunstler appealed to the Fourth Circuit.[16] That ye ar Kunstler also sued public housing authorities in Westchester County.[17] In 1964, Kunstler defended a group of four accused of kidnapping a white couple, and succeeded in getting the alleged weapons thrown out as evidence, as they co uld not be positively identified as ones used.[18] That year he also challenged Mississippi's unpledged elector law as well as racial segregation in primary ele ctions; he also defended three members of the Blood Brothers, a Harlem gang, cha rged with murder.[19][20] Kunstler went to St. Augustine, Florida in 1964 during the demonstrations led by Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. Robert B. Hayling that resulted in the passage o f the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Kunstler brought the first federal case under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which allowed the removal of ca ses from county court to be appealed; the defendants were protestors at the 1964 New York World's Fair.[21] ACLU director (19641972)[edit]He was a director of the American Civil Liberties U nion (ACLU) from 1964 to 1972, when he became a member of the ACLU National Coun cil. In 1966 he co-founded the Center for Constitutional Rights. Kunstler also w orked with the National Lawyers Guild. In 1965, Kunstler's firm Kunstler, Kunstler, and Kinoy was asked to defend Jack Ruby by his brother Earl, but dropped the case because they "did not wish to be in a situation where we have to fight to get into the case".[22][23] Ruby was ev entually permitted to replace his original defense team with Kunstler,[24][25] w ho got him a new trial.[26] In 1966, he also defended an arsonist who burned dow n a Jewish Community Center, killing twelve, because he was not provided a lawye r before he signed a confession.[27] Kunstler's other notable clients include: Salvador Agron, H. Rap Brown,[28][29][ 30][31] Lenny Bruce,[32] Stokely Carmichael,[2] the Catonsville Nine,[33] Angela Davis, Larry Davis, Gregory Lee Johnson, Martin Luther King,[2] Gary McGivern, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.,[34] Filiberto Ojeda Rios, Assata Shakur, Lemuel Smith, [35] Morton Sobell,[36] Wayne Williams, and Michael X. "Chicago Seven" (19691972)[edit] While defending the Chicago Seven, he put the war in Vietnam on trial - asking Judy Collins to sing "Where Have All The Flowers G one" from the witness stand, placing a Viet Cong flag on the defence table, and wearing a black armband to commemorate the war dead. Ron Kuby, in his 1995 eulogy of Kunstler.[37] Kunstler gained national renown for defending the "Chicago Seven" (originally "C hicago Eight"), in a five-month trial in 19691970, against charges of conspiring to incite riots in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.[38] U nder cross-examination, Kunstler got a key police witness to contradict his prev ious testimony and admit that he had not witnessed Jerry Rubin, but had rather b een given his name two weeks later by the FBI.[39] Another prosecution witness, photographer Louis Salzberg, admitted under Kunstler's cross-examination that he was still on the payroll of the FBI.[40] The trial was marked by frequent clashes between Kunstler and U.S.