Hans Zeisel (September 1, 1905 – March 7, 1992) was an Austrian-American sociologist and legal scholar who taught at the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...

from 1953 to 1974. He was best known for using quantitative social science techniques to study the law.

Early life and education

Zeisel was born in

Kadaň Kadaň (; ) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the Ohře river. Kadaň is a tourist centre with highlights being the Franciscan Monastery in ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

in 1905, and soon afterward moved with his family to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, where he grew up. He received his doctorates in law and political science from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

in 1927.

Early career

After receiving his doctorates, Zeisel worked with

Paul Lazarsfeld Paul Felix Lazarsfeld (February 13, 1901August 30, 1976) was an Austrian-American sociologist and mathematician. The founder of Columbia University's Bureau of Applied Social Research, he exerted influence over the techniques and the organizat ...

and Marie Jahoda on the 1933 study ''Die Arbeitslosen von Marienthal'', which David Kaye has called "a celebrated study of the impact of the Depression and unemployment on a small Austrian town." Similarly,

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 ...

professor Friedrich Katz said of ''Marienthal'' that "The book had a profound effect, not only in Austria, but everywhere". Also after graduating from the University of Vienna, he practiced law and engaged in pro-socialism activism until 1938, when he emigrated to

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 ...

in response to the Anschluss Österreichs. In New York, he became influential in the fields of media market research, and his research in these areas led to the 1947 statistics book ''Say It with Figures''.

Later career

Zeisel joined the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School in 1953 to study the American jury system with

Harry Kalven Harry Kalven Jr. (September 11, 1914 – October 29, 1974) was an American legal scholar known for his scholarship on tort law and United States constitutional law. He was the Harry A. Bigelow Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law Sc ...

. The research Zeisel and Kalven conducted on the jury system produced two books: ''Delay in the Court'' (1959) and ''The American Jury''. After retiring from the University of Chicago, he continued conducting research, especially on

capital punishment 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 (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

(of which he was a firm opponent) and

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may occ ...

. In 1977 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.View/Search Fellows of the ASA
, accessed 2016-08-20. One of the last works he wrote discussed the limits of using statistical methods to study the legal system. This book was posthumously published in 1997 as ''Prove It with Figures''.

Death

Zeisel died at his home in 1992.

References

External links

Guide to the Hans Zeisel Papers 1925-1992
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeisel, Hans 1905 births 1992 deaths People from Kadaň German Bohemian people Austrian emigrants to the United States American people of German Bohemian descent 20th-century American lawyers American legal scholars American statisticians University of Vienna alumni University of Chicago Law School faculty Fellows of the American Statistical Association American sociologists 20th-century American mathematicians 20th-century American social scientists Austrian sociologists Austrian statisticians