Charles David Breitel (December 12, 1908,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

– December 1, 1991,

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He was Chief Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

from 1974 to 1978.

Private life

He was the son of Harry Herman Breitel (born on 10 Apr 1873, in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire, now

Lviv, Ukraine Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

) and Regina D. Breitel (née Zuckerberg, born in Austria). His parents had 4 children, 3 of which were born in Austria: Sadie (1889–1990), Lillian (born on 10 June 1897 in Lemberg), Ethel Ettie (born 1905 in Austria), and Charles David (born on December 12, 1908, in

). His father died in 1911. His family was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He attended the public schools in New York City. On April 9, 1927, 19-year-old Charles married 18-year-old Jeanne S. Hollander (1909–1996), who was also to become a lawyer. He earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1929, and a law degree from

Columbia University Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The university is known for its legal scholarship dating ba ...

. The Breitels have had two daughters: Eleanor (Breitel) Alter (1938–), a lawyer in Manhattan; and Vivian Hollander Breitel (1945–), who lives in Houston, Texas.

Career

From 1934 to 1950, he worked for

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in 1944 and ...

. While Dewey was, successively, New York City's Special Prosecutor of Rackets, District Attorney of

New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, briefly in private law practice, and from 1943 on

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

, Breitel was Assistant D.A., Dewey's law partner, and Counsel to the Governor. In 1950, Dewey appointed him a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Samuel Null. In December 1950, Dewey re-appointed Breitel to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Ferdinand Pecora Ferdinand Pecora (January 6, 1882 – December 7, 1971) was an American lawyer and New York State Supreme Court judge who became famous in the 1930s as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency during its invest ...

. In November 1951, he was elected on the Republican and Democratic tickets to a 14-year term, and re-elected in 1965. He was on the Appellate Division from 1952 to 1966. In January 1967, he was appointed a judge of the

to fill the vacancy caused by the election of

Stanley H. Fuld Stanley Howells Fuld (August 23, 1903 – July 22, 2003) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1967 to 1973. Life Born in Manhattan, New York City, Fuld was the son of Emanu ...

as Chief Judge. In November 1967, he was elected to a 14-year term. In November 1973, he was elected on the Republican and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

tickets Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, defeating Democrat

Jacob D. Fuchsberg Jacob David Fuchsberg (June 14, 1913, Manhattan, New York City – August 27, 1995, Port Chester, New York, Port Chester, Westchester County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician. He was elected to the Court of Appeals as an associ ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

James J. Leff. As Chief Judge, he was a strong proponent of changing the way of choosing the Court of Appeals' judges from popular election, which had been the system since its establishment in 1846, to having them appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

. New York State voters approved the constitutional amendment. He retired from the bench at the end of 1978 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. His successor as Chief Judge was Lawrence H. Cooke, appointed by Governor Hugh L. Carey in 1979.

Death

He had a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in September 1990, and two months later entered the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home in Manhattan where he died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

the next year, aged 82.

References

Sources

Listing of Court of Appeals judges, with portrait

Obit in NYT on December 3, 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Breitel, Charles David 1908 births 1991 deaths American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals Columbia Law School alumni Lawyers from Manhattan University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American Jews 20th-century New York state court judges New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department justices Jewish state legislators in New York (state)