Leonard Irving Weinglass (August 27, 1933 – March 23, 2011) was a U.S. criminal defense lawyer and constitutional law advocate, best known for his defense of participants in the

1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is oft ...

. He was admitted to the bar in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

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 * ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He taught criminal trial advocacy at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Law School from 1974 to 1976, and at the Peoples College of Law, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

from 1974 to 1975.

Early life

Leonard Weinglass was born on August 27, 1933, to a

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 ...

family in

Belleville, New Jersey Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "beautiful town") is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 38,222. an increase of 2,296 (+6.4%) from the 2010 ...

. He graduated from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1958, then served as a captain judge advocate in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

from 1959 to 1961.

Career

Weinglass championed a number of liberal and radical causes during the counterculture era.: An expert in constitutional law, he served as co-chairman of the international committee 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 193 ...

. Along with attorney

William Kunstler William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 – September 4, 1995) was an American attorney and civil rights activist, known for defending the Chicago Seven. Kunstler was an active member of the National Lawyers Guild, a board member of the American Ci ...

, Weinglass represented the Chicago 7 in their 1969 trial. He also participated in the defense of

Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg (April 7, 1931June 16, 2023) was an American political activist, economist, and United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, he precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released th ...

and Anthony Russo, who were charged with leaking the ''

Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States' political and militar ...

'' and whose trial ended in a dismissal of all charges. In 1970, he represented and won the acquittal of

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...

who was charged with participation in the abduction and murder of a California judge. Other prominent clients included Kathy Boudin, a member of the Weather Underground charged with felony murder for her participation in an armed robbery; anti-war activist Ron Kaufman; Bill and Emily Harris (of the SLA), wrongfully convicted Korean-American

Chol Soo Lee Chol Soo Lee (August 15, 1952 – December 2, 2014) was a Korean American immigrant who was wrongfully convicted for the 1973 murder of Yip Yee Tak, a Chinatown, San Francisco, San Francisco Chinatown gang leader, and sentenced to life in prison. ...

, and Jimi Simmons, among others. He was the lead defense attorney for

Mumia Abu-Jamal Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook; April 24, 1954) is an American political activist and journalist who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1982 for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia police officer C ...

for several years. In 1995, he authored a book about Abu-Jamal's case entitled ''Race for Justice: Mumia Abu Jamal's Fight Against the Death Penalty''. In 1972, Weinglass took on the defense of John Sinclair, Chairman of the White Panther Party in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. The case became '' United States v. U.S. District Court'', 407 U.S. 297 (1972) on appeal to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

, a landmark decision prohibiting the government's use of electronic

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

without a warrant. Weinglass defended Kathy Boudin in the 1981 Brink's robbery. In 1985, Weinglass successfully defended Stephen Bingham, an attorney accused of smuggling a handgun to George Jackson in

San Quentin Prison San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in ...

setting off an escape attempt that resulted in the death of Jackson, two other inmates, and three prison guards. Weinglass was the lead appellate attorney for the

Cuban Five The Cuban Five, also known as the Miami Five, are five Cuban intelligence officers (Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González) who were arrested in September 1998 and later convicted in Miam ...

from 2002 until his death in 2011.

Last years

Up until the last year of his life, Weinglass continued to take on cases. He saw no reason to stop: ''"the typical call I get is the one that starts by saying 'You are the fifth attorney we've called'. Then I get interested."''

Death

Leonard Weinglass died on March 23, 2011, aged 77, from pancreatic cancer, in New York City.

Popular culture

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. Gould's breakthrough role was in the film ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The ...

played Weinglass in the 1987 film '' Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8''. * Weinglass voiced himself in the 2007 animated documentary '' Chicago 10''. *Weinglass was portrayed by

Ben Shenkman Ben Shenkman (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy-drama series '' Royal Pains'' and the acclaimed HBO miniseries ''Angels in America'', which earned him both Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe ...

in the 2020 drama film ''

The Trial of the Chicago 7 ''The Trial of the Chicago 7'' is a 2020 American historical legal drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. The film follows the Chicago Seven, a group of anti–Vietnam War protesters charged with conspiracy and crossing state lines ...

''.

Awards

* 1974: First recipient of the

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 ...

Award. * 1980: Humanitarian Award for 1980 of the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles * 1994: Outstanding Achievement Award (California Attorneys for Criminal Justice) * 1996 Firecracker Alternative Book Award for Politics for ''Race for Justice: Mumia Abu-Jamal's Fight Against the Death Penalty''

References

External links

My friend Len Weinglass (1933–2011), by Michael Steven Smith

Memorial Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinglass, Leonard 1933 births 2011 deaths People from Belleville, New Jersey Military personnel from Essex County, New Jersey American human rights activists American civil rights lawyers American Jews American lawyers Mumia Abu-Jamal Yale Law School alumni United States Air Force officers Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state) Chicago Seven Lawyers from Essex County, New Jersey