Abraham Unger (1899–1975) was a 20th-Century American lawyer, co-founder and officer of the

National Lawyers Guild The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is a progressive public interest association of lawyers, law students, paralegals, jailhouse lawyers, law collective members, and other activist legal workers, in the United States. The group was founded in 1937 ...

, and partner in the law firm of Freedman and Unger. Defendants included:

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

(CPUSA), state-level Party organizations, individual Communist and Progressive activists, radical and/or Communist-associated labor unions and their leaders and activists, Puerto Rican nationalists, and fellow lawyers charged with contempt and other crimes in connection with their defense of radicals. Colleague

Victor Rabinowitz Victor Rabinowitz (July 2, 1911 – November 16, 2007) was a 20th-century American lawyer known for representing high-profile dissidents and causes. Background Rabinowitz was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Rose (née Netter) and Louis M. Ra ...

noted in his memoir that Unger was "a lawyer who frequently represented the Communist party."

Education

Unger graduated from New York University's Law School.

Career

In 1931, Unger worked for the defense of the Scottsboro Boys as a member of the

International Labor Defense The International Labor Defense (ILD) (1925–1947) was a legal advocacy organization established in 1925 in the United States as the American section of the Comintern's International Red Aid network. The ILD defended Sacco and Vanzetti, was acti ...

(ILD), a branch of the CPUSA. In 1937, he helped co-found the

(NLG), served as a national officer, and headed its New York chapter for many years. An investigative report on the NLG showed Unger as a national executive board member for 1949 and 1950. In 1949, he defended some of the twelve Party leaders in the Smith Act trials (charged with conspiring to advocate violent overthrow of the U.S. government). Paterson strike leaders

In 1951, Unger joined more than half a dozen other lawyers in defending 17 Communist Party members, including

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (August 7, 1890 – September 5, 1964) was a labor leader, activist, and feminist who played a leading role in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Flynn was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Unio ...

. The communists were accused of conspiring to "teach and advocate violent overthrow" of the government. The other lawyers were: Abraham L. Pomerantz, Carol Weiss King,

, Michael Begun,

Harold I. Cammer Harold I. Cammer (June 18, 1909 – October 21, 1995) was an American lawyer who co-founded the National Lawyers Guild. He was known for his participation in labor law, civil rights, peace and justice issues, and freedom of speech cases; in parti ...

, Mary Kaufman, and

Leonard Boudin Leonard B. Boudin (July 20, 1912 – November 24, 1989) was an American civil liberties attorney and left-wing activist who represented Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame and Dr. Benjamin Spock, the author of '' Baby and Child Care'', who ...

. Later, they were relieved by O. John Rogge, gangster

Frank Costello Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia; ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. In 1957, Costello survived an assassination attempt ordered by Vito Genovese and carried out by ...

's lawyer George Wolf, William W. Kleinman, Joseph L. Delaney, Frank Serri,

Osmond K. Fraenkel Osmond Fraenkel (Oct. 17, 1888-May 17, 1983) was an American attorney who served as general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. Background Osmond Kessler Fraenkel was born on October 17, 1888, in New York City. His parents were Jos ...

, Henry G. Singer, Abraham J. Gellinoff, Raphael P. Koenig, and Nicholas Atlas. In 1952, he petitioned for the commutation of

Oscar Collazo Oscar Collazo (January 20, 1914 – February 21, 1994) was one of two Puerto Rican militants of the Nationalist Party who on November 1, 1950, attempted to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman in Washington, DC. He had been living ...

’s life sentence for his attempted assassination of U.S. President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. In 1953, he faced indictment for contempt, specifically refusing to answer questions from Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...

before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (currently called the "

United States Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), stood up in March 1941 as the "Truman Committee," is the oldest subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (formerly the Committee on Governme ...

"). He also would not respond as to whether he headed the Party's section for professionals. In the mid-1950s, he defended Puerto Rican nationalist Juan Bernardo Lebron, charged as a conspirator in the 1954 attack on the U.S. House of Representatives.

Personal and death

Rabinowitz's circle of Communist-leaning lawyer friends included Unger, Harry Sacher, David Freedman, David Rein,

Joseph Forer Joseph Forer (11 August 1910 – 20 June 1986) was a 20th-century American attorney who, with partner David Rein, supported Progressive causes, including discriminated communists and African-Americans. Forer was one of the founders of the Nation ...

, and Marty Popper. Like Popper, Unger defaulted to invocation of the Fifth Amendment as a standard operating procedure for clients.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unger, Abraham 1899 births 1975 deaths Lawyers from New York City Members of the Communist Party USA American activists New York University School of Law alumni

Education

Career

Personal and death

See also

References

External links