Simon Ernest Sobeloff (December 3, 1894 – July 11, 1973) was an American attorney and jurist, who served as

Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

, as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, and as a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...

Education and career

Sobeloff was born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, the son of Jacob and Mary Hilda (Kaplan) Sobeloff, who were

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immigrants. Sobeloff attended public schools including Baltimore City College and the

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law from 1924 to 2011) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1816, it i ...

, where he received his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1915. He served as a

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in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 1910. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1914, was a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

in Baltimore the same year, and subsequently went into private practice. From 1919 through 1924 he served as the assistant city solicitor for Baltimore and was appointed the deputy city solicitor for Baltimore from 1927 to 1931. In 1931 he became 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 Maryland, where he served until 1934. Subsequently, he was selected to be the Baltimore City Solicitor and the special counsel to Baltimore City Housing Commission. He then returned to private practice from 1947 to 1952. Sobeloff served as Chairman of the Commission on the Administrative Organization of the State of Maryland from 1951 to 1952. In 1952, he was appointed to the position of Chief Judge of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland (previously the Maryland Court of Appeals) is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief justice and six associate justices, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of ...

, where he served until 1954.

Solicitor General

From 1954 through 1956, Sobeloff served as

United States Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

in the Administration of President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. Sobeloff presented the government's arguments on the implementation of the Supreme Court's decision in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

'', to outlaw segregation in public schools.

Federal judicial service

Sobeloff was nominated by President

on January 12, 1956, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Morris Ames Soper. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on July 16, 1956, and received his commission on July 18, 1956. He served as Chief Judge and as a member of the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial co ...

from 1958 to 1964. He assumed senior status on December 31, 1970. Sobeloff served in that capacity until his death on July 11, 1973, in Baltimore, MD. Sobeloff is buried in Hebrew Friendship Cemetery in Baltimore.

Family

Sobeloff married Irene Ehrlich in May 1918 and they had two daughters and four grandchildren.

References

Sources

Solicitor General's Website

External links

*

*
Simon Sobeloff
at the

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

bio page {{DEFAULTSORT:Sobeloff, Simon E. 1894 births 1973 deaths American people of Russian-Jewish descent Burials at Hebrew Friendship Cemetery Jewish American people in Maryland politics Lawyers from Baltimore Baltimore City College alumni University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni United States attorneys for the District of Maryland Solicitors general of the United States Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Maryland Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower Jews from Maryland