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Alan Dershowitz

Alan Morton Dershowitz (born September 1, 1938) is a leading American legal scholar. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School [7]. At age 28, Dershowitz became the youngest full professor of law at Harvard. An outspoken advocate of the First Amendment and other causes, he has argued numerous high-profile civil rights and criminal cases, including those of Harry Reems, Patty Hearst, O.J. Simpson, and Claus von Bülow. The latter case was the subject of the film Reversal of Fortune, based on Dershowitz's book of the same name, in which he was portrayed by Ron Silver.

Early life, education, and family

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Dershowitz was born in the Williamsburg neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn and grew up in Borough Park.[1]

His parents, Harry and Claire, were both devout orthodox Jews. His father (8 May 1909[3]–26 April 1984[2]) was a founder and president of the Young Israel Synagogue in the 1960s[2], served on the board of directors of the Etz Chaim School in Borough Park[2], and in retirement was co-owner of the Manhattan-based Merit Sales Company[2]. His brother, Nathan Dershowitz, is on the counsel for the American Jewish Congress.[2]

Adhering to the orthodox Jewish faith, Dershowitz attended Yeshiva University High School,[1] where he also played on the basketball team.[1] He was a rebellious student, often chastised by his teachers. A career placement center, however, stated that he had talent, and was capable of becoming an ad executive, funeral director, or salesman[4].

Upon graduating, he went to Brooklyn College,[1] from which he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1959. He later attended Yale Law School,[1] where he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal.[1] He graduated first in his class with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1962.

Career

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After being admitted to the bar, Dershowitz served as a law clerk for David L. Bazelon, Chief Judge of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and Arthur Goldberg, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.[7]

Dershowitz joined the faculty of Harvard Law School as an assistant professor of law in 1964. He was made a full professor of law in 1967 at the age of 28, becoming Harvard's youngest full law professor at the time. He was appointed the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law in 1993.[7]

Much of Dershowitz's legal career has focused on cases involving the First Amendment, and his clients include high-profile figures such as Patricia Hearst, Leona Helmsley, Jim Baker, Harry Reems, Penthouse, F. Lee Bailey, and O.J. Simpson. He is noted for defending the right of free speech even where that speech is contrary to his personal beliefs, as in his 1977 case where he argued for the American Nazi Party's right to free expression in Illinois.[5]

Awards and honors

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Dershowitz was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 1979, and was in 1983 a recipient of the William O. Douglas First Amendment Award from the Anti-Defamation League of the B’nai B’rith for his work in civil rights.[7] He has been awarded honorary doctorates in law from Yeshiva University, the Hebrew Union College, Monmouth College, and Haifa University.[6]

Controversy

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The debate with Chomsky

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The debate with Finkelstein

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Main article: Dershowitz-Finkelstein affair

Selected books

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  • 2005: The Case for Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can be Resolved (ISBN 0471743178); Chapter 16 is available online in PDF format
  • 2004: Rights From Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights (ISBN 0465017134)
  • 2004: America on Trial: Inside the Legal Battles That Transformed Our Nation (ISBN 0446520586)
  • 2003: America Declares Independence (ISBN 0471264822)
  • 2003: The Case for Israel (hardcover: ISBN 047146502X; paperback: ISBN 0471679526)
  • 2002: Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age (ISBN 0316181412)
  • 2002: Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge (ISBN 0300097662)
  • 2001: Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000 (ISBN 0195148274)
  • 2001: Letters to a Young Lawyer (ISBN 0465016316)
  • 2000: The Genesis of Justice: Ten Stories of Biblical Injustice that Led to the Ten Commandments and Modern Law (ISBN 0446676772)
  • 1999: Just Revenge (fiction; ISBN 0446608718)
  • 1998: Sexual McCarthyism: Clinton, Starr, and the Emerging Constitutional Crisis (ISBN 0465016286)
  • 1997: The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century (ISBN 0316181331)
  • 1996: Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O.J. Simpson Case (ISBN 0684830213)
  • 1994: The Abuse Excuse: And Other Cop-Outs, Sob Stories, and Evasions of Responsibility (ISBN 0316181358)
  • 1994: The Advocate's Devil (fiction; ISBN 0446517593)
  • 1992: Contrary to Popular Opinion (ISBN 0886877016)
  • 1991: Chutzpah (ISBN 0316181374)
  • 1988: Taking Liberties: A Decade of Hard Cases, Bad Laws, and Bum Raps (ISBN 0809246163)
  • 1985: Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case (ISBN 0394539036)
  • 1982: The Best Defense (ISBN 0394507363)

Quotations

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Himself

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"Judges are the weakest link in our system of justice and they are also the most protected."
Newsweek, 20 February 1978
"The courtroom oath—to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth—is applicable only to witnesses...because the American justice system is built on a foundation of not telling the whole truth."
The Best Defense
"All sides in a trial want to hide at least some of the truth."
US News & World Report, 9 August 1982
"The defendant wants to hide the truth because he's generally guilty. The defense attorney's job is to make sure the jury does not arrive at that truth."
US News & World Report, 9 August 1982
"The prosecution...wants to make sure the process by which the evidence was obtained is not truthfully presented, because, as often as not, that process will raise questions."
US News & World Report, 9 August 1982
"The judge also has a truth he wants to hide: He often hasn’t been completely candid in describing the facts or the law."
US News & World Report 9 August 1982
"I am a skeptic about everything, including God and atheism. I am not certain about issues of cosmology. ... I am more certain that the miraculous stories that form the basis of most religious beliefs are myths. Yet I respect the Bible and enjoy reading and teaching it. Indeed, I find it even more fascinating as a human creation than as a divine revelation. I consider myself a committed Jew, but I do not believe that being a Jew requires belief in the supernatural. ... Indeed, it is while praying that I experience my greatest doubts about God, and it is while looking at the stars that I make the leap of faith. ... If there is a governing force, He (or She or It) is certainly not in touch with those who purport to be speaking on His behalf."
"Taking Disbelief Out of the Closet", Free Inquiry, 19(3), p. 7, Summer 1999.

Others

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Elaine Kendall of the Los Angeles Times calls Dershowitz "the attorney of last resort for the desperate and despised, counselor for lost causes and forlorn hopes."
Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2003. Entry updated 5 December 2003.

References

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Articles about Dershowitz

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The debate with Noam Chomsky

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The debate with Norman Finkelstein

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Notes

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  1. ap. 35 bp. 41 cp. 40 dp. 45-46 ep. 49 fp. 57 Dershowitz, Alan M (1992-05-01). Chutzpah. Touchstone Books. ISBN 0671760890. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  2. a b c d e "Obituary: Harry Dershowitz". The New York Times, April 26, 1984.
  3. a "Harry Dershowitz". Social Security Death Index. Retrieved 2005-12-08.
  4. a Stull, Elizabeth (2003-09-25). "Son of Brooklyn Brings Home Legacy of High-Profile Trials". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 2005-12-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  5. a Gale, Thomson (2002). "Dershowitz, Alan M." World of Criminal Justice. Retrieved 2005-12-08.
  6. a Crystal Reference (2001). "Dershowitz, Alan M(orton)". Crystal Reference Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2005-12-08.
  7. a b c d "Alan Dershowitz". Harvard Law School Faculty. Retrieved 2005-12-08.
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