Elmer Gertz (September 14, 1906 – April 27, 2000) was an American lawyer, writer, law professor, and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

activist. During his lengthy legal career he won some high-profile cases, most notably

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

for notorious killer Nathan Leopold and the

obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin , , "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Generally, the term can be used to indicate strong moral ...

trial of

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

's novel ''

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, also known as the Northern Tropic, is the Earth's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun ...

'', a book published in France but banned in the United States because of its "candid sexuality" in describing the author's life in Paris. In addition to accounts of his cases and career, he also reviewed books and edited a collection of works by

Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1856 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...

, whom he represented as

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwr ...

for a while. He is best remembered in the legal world, however, for a case in which he was not an advocate but a plaintiff: '' Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.'', a

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

action he brought against the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, right-wing populist, and ...

in 1969 after it accused him of being part of a Communist conspiracy to discredit local police departments. He prevailed, but only after a 14-year battle that saw the case go before the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, which ruled that as a private figure Gertz did not have to prove

actual malice In United States defamation law, actual malice is a legal requirement imposed upon public officials or public figures when they file suit for libel (defamatory printed communications). Compared to other individuals who are less well known to the ...

on the defendants' part. When the case finally went to trial, the jury found in favor of Elmer Gertz and awarded him compensatory damages of $100,000 and punitive damages of $300,000. The award was upheld on appeal.

Early life

A Jew of Lithuanian descent, Gertz was born to Morris and Grace Gertz in Chicago's

Maxwell Street Maxwell Street is an east–west street in Chicago, Illinois, that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee (1988). ...

neighborhood. He attended elementary school with future Supreme Court Justice

Arthur Goldberg Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American politician and jurist who served as the 9th United States Secretary of Labor, U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and t ...

. At the age of ten, his mother dead and his father unable to care for his children, he spent the remainder of his childhood in

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

s in Chicago and

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Education

He graduated from Crane Technical High School, where he made the acquaintance of other young men who would become famous in their own right: authors Meyer Levin and

Leo Rosten Leo Calvin Rosten (Yiddish: ; April 11, 1908 – February 19, 1997) was an American writer and humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism, and Yiddish lexicography. Early life Rosten was born into a Yiddish-speaking famil ...

and newspaper magnate Leo Lerner. Afterwards, he attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and its law school. He received his J.D. degree in 1930 and went to work in the firm of the well-connected Jacob Arvey. He would remain there for another 14 years. He remained involved in education throughout his life, teaching a civil rights class at The John Marshall Law School until his death in 2000.

Legal career

As a law student, Gertz had been inspired by

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the 19th century for high-profile representations of trade union causes, and in the 20th century for several criminal matters, including the ...

's famous argument against the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

in the Leopold-Loeb trial. He himself achieved national fame when he won parole for Nathan Leopold, the surviving half of the infamous thrill-killing duo, in 1958. He made a point of walking out of the prison gates with his client. He and Miller became good friends after he persuaded a court to lift the ban on ''Tropic of Cancer'', a decision the Supreme Court upheld in 1964's '' Grove Press, Inc., v. Gerstein''. In the mid-1960s, Gertz emulated his legal inspiration, Clarence Darrow, when he argued against the

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

handed down to

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; March 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Born in Chicago, R ...

for killing

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...

. It was overturned, and Ruby, who was terminally ill, served the remaining few years of his life in prison.

Educator

In addition to his law practice, Elmer Gertz was an adjunct professor teaching Civil Rights Law at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, where he taught classes in civil rights.

Libel suit against John Birch Society

In 1969, Elmer Gertz represented the family of a young man killed by a Chicago police officer. This drew the ire of the

, which alleged in an article about the case in its magazine, ''American Opinion'', that he had a criminal record and was part of a Communist conspiracy to discredit local police departments in order to pave the way for Communist control by a national police force. He sued the Society for

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

and won a $500,000 judgment. On appeal, the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which was asked to settle the question of whether or not Gertz was a public figure, who would thus have to prove

to win (which he probably could not have). In 1974, the Court ruled in a 5–4 decision that he was not a public figure and that states were free to set their own standards for

when they were alleged by a private figure. Ironically, given his successes in fighting

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

, some of the dissenting justices and other commentators have viewed his victory as limiting

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

rights. The case went back to a six-day trial where Gertz once again prevailed and was awarded $100,000 in compensatory damages and $300,000 in punitive damages. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the award and the U.S. Supreme Court declined further review. A few years later, Gertz and his wife went on a round-the-world, luxury cruise with the money he won and sent "wish you were here" postcards back to Welch and his organization every chance they got.

Political and social activism

In the 1940s, he was active in the fair housing movement, serving on several public bodies devoted to the subject. He presciently warned against the creation of large

housing project Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

s, advocating a more scattered approach instead. He also campaigned for the admission of

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s to the local bar association. In 1969, he was elected to the Illinois Constitutional Convention, where he chaired the committee on its Bill of Rights, working closely with the committee's legal counsel, Dallin H. Oaks. It has been called the strongest bill of rights of any state constitution at that point in time. A decade later, he chaired the equivalent committees of the Illinois and Chicago bar associations. He also served as chairman of the Lawyers' Association. After his death, the Illinois State Bar Association created the Elmer Gertz Lawyer Award in 2000 to recognize lawyers for their exceptional dedication to protecting civil liberties. Elmer Gertz received Israel's

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

's Medal in 1972 for his service on that country's behalf, and considered that his finest accomplishment. "Things do change for the better," he assured some students near the end of his life, "very, very slowly."

Elmer Gertz Lawyer Award

The Illinois State Bar Association established the Elmer Gertz Lawyer Award in 2000 to recognize lawyers who have shown a continued commitment to preserve and advance human rights. For many years the award was jointly presented with the Blind Service Association, where Elmer Gertz was a board member. The award has been given to the following persons or entities: *2001 - Gregory A. Adamski *2002 - Prof. Ralph Ruebner, The John Marshall Law School (Chicago) *2003 - Prof. Victor J. Stone, University of Illinois College of Law *2004 - Fay Clayton, Chicago *2005 - Award not given *2006 - Prof. Michael P. Seng, The John Marshall Law School (Chicago) *2007 - R. Eugene Pincham, Retired Justice, Illinois Appellate Court *2008 - Prof. Doug Cassel, Notre Dame University School of Law *2009 - Award not given *2010 - Award not given *2011 - Award not given *2012 - Judge Martha A. Mills, Cook County Circuit Court *2013 - Jody Raphael, Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center, DePaul University College of Law (Chicago) *2014 - Barbara Blaine

Bibliography

*''The Best is Yet To Be'' *''Carl Sandburg: Is He the Poet of The People?'' 1946 *''Charter for a New Age: Inside the Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention'', 1980 *''The Diary of a Public Man'', 1945 *''For the First Hours of Tomorrow: The New Illinois Bill of Rights'', 1972 *''Gertz v. Robert Welch: The Story of the Landmark Libel Case'', 1992 *''Frank Harris and Henry Miller: Two Lives Intertwined With Mine'' *''A Handful of Clients'' *''Moment of Madness: The People vs. Jack Ruby'', 1968 *''Reflections on Henry Miller's Centennial Celebration'' *''Odyssey of a Barbarian: The Biography of George Sylvester Viereck'', 1979 *''Quest for a Constitution: A Man Who Wouldn't Quit'', 1984 *''To Life: The Story of A Chicago Lawyer'', 1990 See also Ronald K.L. Collins & Sam Chaltain, ''We Must not be Afraid to be Free: Stories of Free Expression in America'' (Oxford U. Press, 2011)

References

*Adiya, Sarbani; February 2001
Elmer Gertz: A Chicago Legal Legend
''Illinois History''. *Tilt, Max; date unknown

. ''Legal Tilt'' 1.03.

External links

Elmer Gertz papers, Library of Congress, Manuscript DivisionVisual materials from the Elmer Gertz papers, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
from ''American Legends''.

Letter by Gertz urging preservation of Maxwell Street.

A further fragment of the ''American Legends'' interview. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gertz, Elmer 1906 births 2000 deaths American legal writers American male non-fiction writers American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Writers from Chicago Jewish American non-fiction writers Lawyers from Chicago American literary agents American civil rights lawyers University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American Jews Members of Illinois constitutional conventions