Edward J. Ennis (1908–1990) was an American civil rights lawyer. He worked for the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the 1930s and 1940s, where as director of the alien enemy control unit he oversaw the Japanese American internment. He contributed to the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

's efforts to fight the internment, and after World War II resigned from the Department of Justice to join the ACLU, where he rose up through the organization and eventually served as its president from 1969 to 1976.

Career

Ennis graduated from

Columbia University Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestig ...

in 1932, and went on to work for the

for fourteen years. He was a member 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 19 ...

in the 1930s, but withdrew from the organization, believing it to be under the influence of Communists. He held a variety of positions in the Department of Justice, including as

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, director of the alien enemy control unit, and administrator of foreign travel control. His role made him the administrator of the Japanese American internment. Ennis chose not resign from his role at that time, but he did help

head Roger Baldwin to come up with legal strategies to oppose the internment, and testified at the trial of

Gordon Hirabayashi was an American sociologist, best known for his principled resistance to the Japanese American internment during World War II, and the court case which bears his name, '' Hirabayashi v. United States''. Early life Hirabayashi was born in Seatt ...

about the Department of War's withholding of evidence relating to Japanese Americans' loyalty to the United States. In 1946, Ennis did resign from the Department of Justice, and joined the board of the ACLU himself. He became the ACLU's general counsel in 1955, and was elected chairman of the ACLU in 1969, succeeding Ernest Angell who was retiring after 19 years with the organization. He served as ACLU president until 1976, during which time he called for the resignation of President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and an end to the property

tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

enjoyed by religious organizations. Notwithstanding the former, he was critical of the zealousness of opposition to Nixon shown by

Charles Morgan, Jr. Charles "Chuck" Morgan Jr. (March 11, 1930 – January 8, 2009) was an Americans, American civil rights attorney from Alabama who played a key role in establishing the principle of "one man, one vote" in the Supreme Court of the United States ...

of the ACLU's Washington, D.C. office. He was succeeded as ACLU president by Norman Dorsen. He remained a member of the ACLU executive committee until 1985.

Death

Ennis died of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

complications on January 7, 1990, at

Lenox Hill Hospital Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the region's many unive ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He was survived by his wife Marie Joyce and his stepson Mark C. Zauderer.

Footnotes

References

* * 1908 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American lawyers American civil rights lawyers Columbia Law School alumni Deaths from diabetes Presidents of the American Civil Liberties Union United States Department of Justice lawyers {{US-law-bio-stub