Irving Younger (born Irving Yoskowitz; November 30, 1932 – March 13, 1988) was an American lawyer, law professor, judge, and writer. He is well known among lawyers and law students for his energetic talks on effective trial advocacy and legal history.

Biography

Younger was born in

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 ...

and attended high school at the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

, followed by undergraduate studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, from which he graduated in 1953. After serving for two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, Younger obtained his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from

New York University Law School The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

in 1958. He was married to Judith T. Younger (née Weintraub), who is also a lawyer and law professor. After graduating from law school, Younger worked briefly as a litigation associate at the New York law firm of

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (known as Paul, Weiss) is an American multinational white-shoe law firm headquartered in New York City. Paul, Weiss's core practice areas are in litigation and corporate law. The firm has histori ...

, before becoming an Assistant

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

in the

Southern District of New York The Southern District of New York is a federal judicial district that encompasses the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Federal offices or agencies operating in the distri ...

. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Younger handled criminal trials and appeals. Younger's most famous case as a prosecutor was the trial of singer

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

for contempt of Congress after Seeger refused to answer questions about alleged Communist Party membership and activities. Seeger was convicted and sentenced to prison, but the

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

reversed the conviction on a technicality; Younger reports in his autobiography, ''Some of My Life'', that he was not upset when that occurred. After several years in the U.S. Attorney's office, Younger opened a practice as a private defense lawyer, partnering with his wife and handling a wide variety of cases. In 1968, Younger was unexpectedly elected as a judge of the

New York City Civil Court The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part (small claims court) for case ...

, a lower-level trial court, from a district in Manhattan, running on the Democratic,

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 ...

, 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 ...

party lines. As a judge, Younger presided over both civil and criminal cases and authored more than a dozen published opinions. In 1974, Younger resigned from his judgeship to move upstate, accepting a professorship (the Samuel S. Leibowitz Professor of Trial Techniques) at

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...

. From 1981 to 1984, Younger was a member of the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

law firm of

Williams & Connolly Williams & Connolly LLP (often abbreviated to W&C) is an American law firm based in Washington, D.C. known for its specialization in white-collar crime defense. The firm was co-founded by Edward Bennett Williams and Paul Connolly in 1967. Willia ...

, and during the same period also taught as an adjunct professor at

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

. From 1984 until his death in 1988, he was a professor at the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, a public university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Pa ...

. Younger specialized in the fields of

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

law and trial advocacy, and authored casebooks and training materials for lawyers in these subjects. His legal textbook ''Principles of Evidence'', originally co-authored with Michael Goldsmith and more recently also with David Sonenshein, is currently in its 5th edition. He was a well-known lecturer to audiences of lawyers and law students, and more than thirty years after his death, tapes of his continuing legal education talks remain in frequent use, prized for their wit and theatrics as well as their substance and insight. For several years, Younger authored a column on improving legal writing. He also wrote and lectured widely about famous cases in legal history. A selection of his writings, including his article, "The Trial of Alger Hiss", originally published in ''

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

'' (August 1975); the story behind the case of '' Erie Railroad v. Tompkins''; and the obscenity prosecution of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's book ''

Ulysses Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero recognized for his intelligence and cunning. He is famous for his long, adventurous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as narrated in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses may also refer ...

'' were collected in an anthology: ''The Irving Younger Collection: Wisdom & Wit from the Master of Trial Advocacy'', published by the American Bar Association in 2011. Younger died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

in 1988, at the age of 55. His wife remained on the faculty at Minnesota and taught there until 2022.

Work experience

*Private law firm in New York (1958-1960) *Assistant US Attorney (1960-1962) *Opened his own law firm with his wife *Civil court judge in New York City (1969-1974) *Concurrently taught law at NYU *Cornell Law faculty (1974-1981) *Private Law firm in Washington, DC (Williams and Connolly) (1981-1984) *Concurrently taught at Georgetown University Law Center *Law professor at University of Minnesota (1984-1988) *Faculty at The Professional Education Group http://proedgroup.com/professor/irving-younger/

The 10 Commandments of Cross Examination

# Be brief. # Short questions, plain words. # Always ask leading questions. # Don't ask a question to which you do not know the answer. # Listen to the witness's answers. # Don't quarrel with the witness. # Don't allow the witness to repeat his direct testimony. # Don't permit the witness to explain his answers. # Don't ask the "one question too many." #Save the ultimate point of your cross for summation.

References

Sources

''The New York Times''

External links

Biography of Irving Younger45 minute video of his lecture going through all 10-commandments
Legal Lecture was recorded at UC Hastings College Of The Law in San Francisco CA in the late 1970s.
Irving Younger's 10 Commandments of Cross Examination (.pdf)The Irving Younger CLE Series
broken link)
Revisiting Younger's 10 Commandments
broken link)

broken link) {{DEFAULTSORT:Younger, Irving 1932 births Harvard University alumni New York University School of Law alumni Cornell University faculty University of Minnesota Law School faculty 1988 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison people Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Minnesota