Sidney I. Lezak (November 8, 1924 – April 24, 2006) was an American lawyer who served as the

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 ...

for the

District of Oregon The United States District Court for the District of Oregon (in case citations, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union. ...

from 1961 to 1982. Appointed acting U.S. Attorney by John F. Kennedy in 1961, Lezak resigned in 1982.

Early life and education

Lezak was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, the son of immigrants from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Lezak served as a member of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war, Lezak earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

Career

Lezak moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

in 1961, where he worked as an attorney and partner in the firm of Bailey, Lezak, Swink & Gates. In 1961, Lezak was nominated to serve as

for the

by then-president John F. Kennedy. Lezak's nomination was blocked by newly elected senator Maurine Neuberger. From 1961 to 1964, Lezak served as acting

until his nomination was again submitted by Lyndon B. Johnson and he was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

. Lezak served until his retirement in 1982. After leaving government, Lezak re-established a private legal practice, specializing on dispute resolution.

Personal life

Lezak died on April 24, 2006 in

at the age of 81.

References

1924 births {{DEFAULTSORT:Lezak, Sidney I, 2006 deaths Lawyers from Chicago Oregon lawyers United States Attorneys United States Attorneys for the District of Oregon University of Chicago alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Lawyers from Portland, Oregon Military personnel from Illinois