Osmond Fraenkel
Osmond Fraenkel | |
|---|---|
 Fraenkel in 1940 | |
| Born | October 17, 1888 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 17, 1983 (aged 94) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Employer | American Civil Liberties Union |
| Spouse |
Helene Esberg Fraenkel
(m. 1913) |
| Children | 3 |
Osmond Fraenkel (October 17, 1888 – May 17, 1983) was an American attorney who served as general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.[1][2][3][4]
Background
Osmond Kessler Fraenkel was born on October 17, 1888, in New York City.[4] His parents were Joseph E. Fraenkel and Emily Kessler.[3]
He attended the Horace Mann School. In 1908, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude as well as a Master of Arts degree from Harvard College. In 1911, he received a Bachelor of laws degree from Columbia Law School.[3][4]
Career
In 1910, Fraenkel was admitted to New York State bar.[3] and entered private practice.[2]
Private practice
In 1916, Fraenkel joined and became a partner in Goldsmith & Fraenkel. In 1928, the firm became Goldsmith, Jackson & Brock through 1942.[3] In 1942, the firm became Fraenkel, Jackson & Levitt through 1945. In 1945, he became counsel to Hays, St. John, Abramson & Schulman, later Hays, St. John, Abramson & Heilbron through 1981. In 1982, he joined Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman through his death in 1983.[2][3]
Public practice
He served co-counsel to the New York Civil Liberties Committee from 1934[3] (or 1935[2] ) through 1955, at which time he became general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union[2] through 1977.[3]
He served as chair of the New York City Welfare Department Hearing Board from 1936 to 1951.[4]
In the 1930s, Fraenkel came to notoriety, first as attorney for the Scottsboro boys, then as attorney for Harry Bridges and Bertrand Russell.[2] In De Jonge v. Oregon he defended a client accused of criminal syndicalism after this person had spoken at a meeting of the communist party.[2][4]
He defended Consumers Union's pamphlet on contraception from Frank Comerford Walker's opinion that it was obscene.[5]
Other cases argued include:
- 1937: De Jonge v. Oregon
- 1939: Schneider v. State of New Jersey
- 1941: Bridges v. California
- 1958: Trop v. Dulles
- 1967: Turner v. New York (1967)
- 1969: Kramer v. Union Free School District No. 15
- 1974: United States v. Richardson[6]
In United States v. Richardson, Fraenkel argued against Solicitor General Robert H. Bork.
He opposed the McCarthyism of Joseph McCarthy.[2] He did legal work for the cases around Japanese American internment, the Pentagon Papers, and school prayer in the United States.[2]
National Lawyers Guild
Fraenkel was a co-founder of the National Lawyers Guild and was present at pre-formation meeting in New York City on December 1, 1936.[7]
Personal life and death
On December 11, 1913, Fraenkel married Helene Esberg; they had three children: Nancy (Mrs. James A. Wechsler), Carol (Mrs. Mack Lipkin), and George K.[3]
In addition to the National Lawyers Guild, Fraenkel was also a member of Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the American Arbitration Association.[3]
Fraenkel died age 94 on May 17, 1983, in New York City while walking to work.[2]
Quote
- Undated: "People should do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't hurt anyone else." – [2]
Legacy
Norman Dorsen and Ira Glasser called Fraenkel "one of the giants in contemporary life."[2]
Awards
- 1973: Florina Lasker Award from the New York Civil Liberties Union[3]
Works
He authored more than 100 books an articles, including a book on the Sacco and Vanzetti case.[2]
The Library of Congress catalog lists the following works:
- The Sacco-Vanzetti Case (1931, 1969)
- Curse of bigness: miscellaneous papers of Louis D. Brandeis, edited by Osmond K. Fraenkel (1934, 1965)
- Judicial interpretation of labor laws (1939)
- One hundred and fifty years of the Bill of rights (1939, 1941)
- Supreme court and civil liberties: How far has the court protected the Bill of rights? (1941, 1949 1952, 1955, 1960, 1963)
- Our civil liberties (1944, 1969)
- Bürgerliche Freiheiten; grundrechte und verfassungsmässige Freiheiten in den USA, translated by Otto Schütte (1950)
- Our civil liberties
- Rights we have (1971, 1974)
- Rights you have (1972)
Harvard's catalog on Fraenkel's papers[3] lists three books:
- The Sacco-Vanzetti Case (1931)
- Our Civil Liberties (1945)
- The Supreme Court and Civil Liberties (1966)
See also
References
- ↑ "Osmond K. Fraenkel Diaries" (PDF). University of Pennsylvania. 13 October 1997. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Margolick, David (17 May 1983). "Osmond K. Fraenkel Dies at 94 - Former Counsel to the A.C.L.U." The New York Times. New York. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Osmond Kessler Fraenkel papers". Harvard Law School Historical & Special Collections. June 1985. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 John R. Vile, ed. (June 1985). "Osmond Fraenkel". Great American Lawyers [2 Volumes]: An Encyclopedia. Great American Lawyers: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 295. ISBN 9781576072028. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ↑ Walker, Samuel (1990). In defense of American liberties : a history of the ACLU. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 159. ISBN 978-0195045390.
- ↑ "Osmond K. Fraenkel". Oyez Project. Archived from the original on 2010-08-31.
- ↑ Rabinowitz, Victor; Ledwith, Tim Ledwith, eds. (1987). A History of the NLG: 1937-1987. New York: National Lawyers Guild. pp. 7–8 (pre-formation). Retrieved 1 August 2017.