http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/cohn261107.html
26/11/07
by Marjorie Cohn
On November 16, 2007, Victor Rabinowitz, one of the giants of the
legal profession and a tireless fighter for social justice, died at
the age of 96. One of the founders of the National Lawyers Guild 70
years ago, Victor defended unpopular clients when other lawyers were
afraid to touch them. During the McCarthy period, he and his partner
Leonard Boudin represented unions that were considered to be
left-wing. The firm counted as clients Daniel Ellsberg, Paul
Robeson, Julian Bond, Dashiell Hammett, Dr. Benjamin Spock, the Rev.
Philip Berrigan, Alger Hiss, the Black Panthers, the Salvador Allende
government in Chile, and the Cuban government.
Victor handled several landmark cases. In 1950, he challenged the
provision of the Taft-Hartley Act that prevented unions from
representing workers unless all union officers swore a loyalty oath
that they were not members of or affiliated with the Communist
Party. He lost the case 5 to 4 in the Supreme Court. His work in
the Supreme Court case of United States v. Yellin was instrumental in
the demise of the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee
(HUAC). In 1964, in a 8 to 1 decision, the Supreme Court held in
Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino that U.S. courts cannot review
the legality of the Cuban nationalizations of U.S.-owned property
under international law. Victor represented the government of Cuba
in that case.
John Mage, prominent radical lawyer and an Officer and Director of
the Monthly Review Foundation, wrote a review of Victor's book,
Unrepentant Leftist: A Lawyer's Memoir, for Monthly Review. Mage
recalled his favorite Victor story: "In the Cuban bank litigation,
Victor (representing the Cubans) was served with a discovery demand
that he forwarded to the Cuban Finance Ministry, at that time headed
by Che. Shortly afterwards he was in Havana for an anniversary
celebration and was invited to accompany Guevara. Che directed
Victor's attention to the confetti being thrown from an office tower
and said 'remember that discovery demand? . . . There it is.'"
The Rabinowitz Boudin partnership "constituted the defining invention
of radical lawyering," said Northwestern law professor Bernardine
Dohrn, a leader of the Weathermen who became the Guild student
organizer while Victor was NLG president in 1967. The firm "always
represented the most controversial victims of oppressive state power:
labor struggles, the Community Party cases, constitutional right to
travel and political speech issues, defense of the Cuban revolution,
support for the civil rights/Black Freedom Movement, defense of
anti-Vietnam War activists, and legal defense of Palestinian
political activists," Dohrn added.
In his book, Victor characterized McCarthyism as "the era of Great
Fear." In those days, it was the fear of Communism; today, it is the
fear of Terrorism that the administration uses as an excuse to
decimate civil liberties. Describing the government repression
against Communists, leftists, and those suspected of being associated
with them, Victor wrote, "It was the worst of times . . . It was a
terrible and terrifying time." Even the ACLU "succumbed to the red
scare" in those days.
"It became dangerous to utter radical or even progressive thoughts in
an audible tone of voice," he added. The motion picture industry,
teachers, progressive Congress members, progressive organizations,
and those who read books considered "un-American" were
targeted. "Thousands of people lost their jobs, with little prospect
of finding new ones quickly. Families were destroyed and friendships
were wrecked," Victor reported.
Rabinowitz Boudin "probably represented more clients before McCarthy
and HUAC than any other law firm in the country, mostly for little or
no fee," said Michael Krinsky, a partner in the firm.
Victor wrote, "I was under surveillance by the FBI from the early
fifties until the late sixties. The earliest report on me I've found
in my FBI files states that on June 23, 1943, I was believed to be a
member of the Communist party, and it further described me as an
'agile-minded labor attorney' [Thanks]." Victor joined the Communist
Party in 1942 after the Soviet Union and the United States became
allies; he remained a member until the early 1960s.
During the Vietnam War, the Rabinowitz Boudin firm represented
hundreds of men facing the draft or criminal charges for refusing
induction due to their opposition to the war.
Lawyers pick and choose the cases they take for various
reasons. Victor's decisions were always based on principle. "I had
always adhered to a few basic rules," Victor observed. "I would not
represent a landlord against a tenant; I would not represent a drug
dealer; I would not represent an employer against a union; I would
not represent a fascist or right-wing institution."
Victor helped found the National Lawyers Guild, to, in his words,
"counter the anti-New Deal corporation-controlled American Bar
Association (ABA), which at that time did not admit black lawyers or
Communists to membership." As former Guild president and Yale law
professor Thomas Emerson wrote, "The National Lawyers Guild was born
in revolt -- a revolt that embraced the entire intellectual life of the times."
Victor's efforts contributed mightily to the Guild's survival after
the McCarthy period. He counted his work with the Guild as perhaps
his most significant accomplishment. "There are a few things I can
point to with some pride," Victor reflected. "The National Lawyers
Guild is almost sixty years old, and I played some part in building
it. I cannot think of more than a handful of national progressive
organizations that have lived so long in this perilous world."
Tributes to Victor are legion. Doris Brin Walker, the first woman
president of the Guild and one of its leaders during the McCarthy
period, said, "Victor was inspirational, witty, insightful,
tolerant/intolerant, humane, didactic -- one of the most important
and beloved persons in my life. And he will remain so." Ann Fagan
Ginger, another Guild leader in this era, noted, "During the
McCarthy/Truman repressive period, Victor played a particularly
important role in meeting with other lawyers to figure out the best
strategies to defend against, and finally to attack, the Red
Baiters. His principles were larger than his ego, and after the
meetings, he went back to his office and saw to it that the tasks
agreed on were actually carried out." She called the Rabinowitz
Boudin firm "a place of refuge and hope for many whose jobs,
reputations, and family relationships were under attack."
"In each decade, Victor managed to stay utterly committed to the
revolutionary principles of his youth," according to Dohrn, "to work
with the highest intellectual and professional standards of the law,
and to attract clients of the most urgent issues of the moment. His
passionate love of books, his dedicated friendships, and his wry
humor abide in our hearts."
The National Lawyers Guild and all justice-loving people will miss
Victor Rabinowitz. He was a giant of a man.
---
Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and
the President of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of
Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law. Her
articles are archived at www.marjoriecohn.com.
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