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Carol Weiss King (24 August 1895 – 22 January 1952) was a well-known immigration lawyer, key founder of the
International Juridical Association The International Juridical Association (IJA; 1931–1942) was an association of socially minded American lawyers, established by Carol Weiss King and considered by the U.S. federal government (in the form of the U.S. House Un-American Activities ...
, and a founding member 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 19 ...
in the United States. Her left-leaning career spanned from the Palmer Raids to the
McCarthy Era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...
.


Background

Born August 24, 1895, Carol Weiss was the youngest child of Samuel William Weiss and Carrie Stix. Her father was a founder of the law firm of Frank and Weiss (1875–1880), then practiced alone (1880–1910). Her eldest brother, William S. Weiss, continued their father's firm until forced to stop by multiple sclerosis. Another older brother,
Louis S. Weiss Louis Stix Weiss was a name partner of the international law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a firm that traces its roots to one founded by Louis's father Samuel W. Weiss in 1875. He was best known as one of banker Marshall Fie ...
, also entered his father's first Frank and Weiss, which developed into today's
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (known as Paul, Weiss) is an American multinational law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. By profits per equity partner, it is the fifth most profitable law firm in the world. ...
. In 1912, Weiss entered
Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
as a member of the Class of 1916. Archives show many sides of her college life. In 1913, she appeared in a school play, partook in "Mysteries" (sorority rushing), and played basketball. In 1914, she was known as "man-hating" yet managed to appear "resplendent" for the Sophomore Dance. She also joined the managing board of the ''Barnard Bulletin'', whereafter her name appeared as an associate editor. In 1914–15, she was active in the English Club. In 1915, she was involved in the Social Science League, which discussed theories of
Scott Nearing Scott Nearing (August 6, 1883 – August 24, 1983) was an American radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, pacifist, vegetarian and advocate of simple living. Biography Early years Nearing was born in Morris Run, Tioga Coun ...
and for which she was running as secretary-treasurer. For the Athletic Club, she served as pitcher in 1914. In 1916, she was among many who had not paid her Athletic Association dues but was in good enough standing to appear listed as a member in the yearbook as well as a committee member for Greek Games. She graduated in 1916. In 1917, she entered law school and in 1920 graduated with a JD in Law from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
; her brother Louis graduated with a BA in Law from Columbia University, although he started law school a year earlier.


Career

By the end of 1916, Weiss was "doing volunteer work for the American Association for Labor Legislation." In 1917, she was a volunteer research assistant for the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
(ACLU). By 1920, as Carol Weiss King, she volunteered to work with Local 25 of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). In 1921, she had opened her own law office. In 1923, her name appears in the ''Barnard Bulletin'' as "lawyer" without affiliation stated. In 1924, the communist ''
Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were ...
'' newspaper listed her as one of their most successful solicitors of subscriptions. That same year, she had formed a "loose partnership" with radical attorneys. These included Joseph R. Brodsky, Swinburne Hale, Walter Nelles,
Isaac Shorr Isaac Shorr (ca. 1884–1964) was a 20th-century American immigration and naturalization lawyer and philosophical anarchist who worked with other important, radical lawyers in the 1920s–1940s and whose legal partners included: Swinburne Hale, W ...
, and Walter Pollak. One of Carol Weiss King's first and most durable relationships was with Pollak, a onetime partner of
Benjamin Cardozo Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's th ...
, whom she met through her brother-in-law Carl Stern. King, Pollak and Stern worked on the Scottsboro Boys cases, which Pollak successfully argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, among other cases. (Another source cites her as head partner of "Shorr, Brodsky, and King in 1925. ) King also associated with left-wing activists, including members of the
Communist Party of the United States of America The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
. In 1924, she began to edit the ''Law and Freedom Bulletin'' an ACLU digest that recorded state and federal cases involving significant questions of constitutional law. In her 30-year career, she represented hundreds of foreign-born radicals threatened with deportation in administrative proceedings in the lower courts and in the Supreme Court. In 1942, she became general counsel to the
American Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born American Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born was the successor group to the National Council for the Protection of the Foreign Born and its successor, seen by the US federal government as subversive for "protecting foreign Communists who c ...
(ACPFB). Due to her association with controversial clients, King herself was subject to surveillance by the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
.


ILD, IJA, ACPFB, NLG

In 1925, she helped Brodsky found the
International Labor Defense The International Labor Defense (ILD) (1925–1947) was a legal advocacy organization established in 1925 in the United States as the American section of the Comintern's International Red Aid network. The ILD defended Sacco and Vanzetti, was activ ...
for the
CPUSA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
(then operating under the name Workers Party of America) and served on its legal advisory committee. In 1931, she became the primary founder of the
International Juridical Association The International Juridical Association (IJA; 1931–1942) was an association of socially minded American lawyers, established by Carol Weiss King and considered by the U.S. federal government (in the form of the U.S. House Un-American Activities ...
. In 1937, she helped found the National Lawyers Guild. In 1942, she became general counsel for the American Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born, until her death in 1952 In a footnote in his 1952 memoir,
Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938) ...
notes:
In the early 1930s, Hiss had been a member of the International Juridical Association, of which the late Carol
eiss Chaim Yisroel Eiss (1876–1943, he, חיים ישראל אייז) was an World Agudath Israel, Agudath Israel activist and writer. He also was among the founders of the Agudath Israel in 1912. During the First World War, Rebbe Eiss set up an a ...
King, a habitual attorney for Communists in trouble, was a moving spirit. The International Juridical Association has been cited as subversive by the Attorney General. Also among its members: Lee Pressman, Abraham Isserman (one of the attorneys for the eleven convicted Communist leaders), Max Loewenthal ( Max Lowenthal), author of a recent book attacking the F.B.I.


Cases

King supported several United States Supreme Court cases including '' Powell v. Alabama'' (1932) (the first Scottsboro Boys case) and ''Herndon v. Lowrey'' (1937).


Harry Bridges 1938

King's best-known client was union leader Harry Bridges, who faced deportation in 1938 for alleged membership in the Communist Party. The case reached the Supreme Court of the United States, which reversed the deportation order during World War II.


William Schneiderman 1940

King's representation of Communist Party leader
William Schneiderman William V. Schneiderman (December 14, 1905 – January 29, 1985) was an American politician activist who was secretary for California in the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and involved in two cases before the United States Supreme Court, ''Stack v. B ...
exemplifies her success in enlisting other (male) attorneys to work for free on key constitutional cases — in this case, recruiting
Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...
, the 1940 Republican Party presidential nominee, to represent Schneiderman before the Supreme Court. King won this case in 1943, preventing the Government's revocation of the Communist Party leader's citizenship.


Gerhart Eisler 1947

King also represented
Gerhart Eisler Gerhart Eisler (20 February 1897 – 21 March 1968) was a German politician, editor and publicist. Along with his sister Ruth Fischer, he was a very early member of the Austrian German Communist Party (KPDÖ) and then a prominent member of the Co ...
in his trial in July 1947. She accused FBI agent, Robert J. Lamphere, of framing Eisler. After only a few hours of deliberation, the jury brought in a guilty verdict and he was sentenced to a year in prison. Lamphere asked Eisler as the court was adjourning, "Gerhart, do you think you got a fair trial?" He replied: "Yes, a fair trial but an unfair indictment. Lamphere later recalled: "It was the last time I saw Eisler in person; in a way, I almost liked him - his bravado was astonishing."


J. Peters 1948

King also defended "red conspirator" J. Peters against the INS (named by Louis Budenz and
Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938) ...
as mastermind of a Soviet underground spy ring operating in Washington, DC, during the 1930s and 1940s) and counseled Peters on how to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) (1948-1949). Although the J. Peters case was among the best known of King's career, Ann Fagan Ginger makes only a single reference to it in her biography of more than 500 pages.


Sung v. McGrath 1950

King took on many cases against the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Her most important legal victory came from Sung v. McGrath (339 U.S. 908, 1950). In this case, the Supreme Court acknowledged that INS was subject to the same administrative and procedural rules as all other federal departments. This ruling froze deportation hearings until the INS agreed to comply with the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act.


Later

In 1951, King joined more than half a dozen other lawyers in defending 17 Communist Party members, including
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (August 7, 1890 – September 5, 1964) was a labor leader, activist, and feminist who played a leading role in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Flynn was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union ...
. The communists were accused of charged conspiring to "teach and advocate violent overthrow" of the government. The other lawyers were: Abraham L. Pomerantz,
Victor Rabinowitz Victor Rabinowitz (July 2, 1911 – November 16, 2007) was a 20th-century American lawyer known for representing high-profile dissidents and causes. Background Rabinowitz was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Rose (née Netter) and Louis M. ...
, Michael Begun, Harold I. Cammer, Mary Kaufman, Leonard Boudin, and Abraham Unger. Later, they were relieved by O. John Rogge, gangster
Frank Costello Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia; ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. In 1957, Costello survived an assassination attempt ordered by Vito Genovese and carried out by ...
's lawyer George Wolf, William W. Kleinman, Joseph L. Delaney, Frank Serri, Osmond K. Fraenkel, Henry G. Singer, Abraham J. Gellinoff, Raphael P. Koenig, and Nicholas Atlas. King herself made only one appearance before the Supreme Court, in Butterfield v. Zydok (342 U.S. 524, 1952), which she lost. African-American Communist organizer
Angelo Herndon Angelo Braxton Herndon (May 6, 1913 in Wyoming, Ohio – December 9, 1997 in Sweet Home, Arkansas) was an African-American labor organizer arrested and convicted of insurrection after attempting to organize black and white industrial workers in ...
was another client. She also represented petitioner Harisiades in the important U.S. Supreme Court immigration law case ''Harisiades v. Shaughnessy'', 342 U.S. 580, 1952.


Personal life and death

She married Gordon Congdon King in 1917. Her husband died of pneumonia in 1930, leaving her a widow with one son—and her work. (Her brother William married 1915 Barnard alumna, Ray Levi.) The
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) kept King under surveillance due to her close communist associations. On January 22, 1952, Carol Weiss King age 56 died of cancer.


Legacy

Barnard College recognized Carol Weiss King in a 1951 issue of the Barnard Bulletin:
Carol Weiss King '16, is a prominent lawyer specializing in immigration work. She has served as counsel in several well-known cases, including the Harry Bridges case, for which she was chief counsel up through the U.S. Supreme Court; and the
William Schneiderman William V. Schneiderman (December 14, 1905 – January 29, 1985) was an American politician activist who was secretary for California in the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and involved in two cases before the United States Supreme Court, ''Stack v. B ...
case, in which she was co-counsel with
Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...
. Mrs. King has also published numerous articles for law reviews.
Other alumnae who appeared in that article include poet Leonie Adams Troy ('22), author Irma Simonton Black ('27), and
Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...
('23). The National Lawyers Guild's Immigration Project presents the Carol King award each year in Ms. King's honor to an outstanding immigration advocate. Walter Pollak's son, Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Pollak (who married King's niece), wrote the foreword to
Ann Fagan Ginger Ann Fagan Ginger (born July 11, 1925) is an American lawyer, teacher, writer, and political activist. She is the founder and Executive Director Emerita of the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute in Berkeley, California. Personal and Professiona ...
's 1993 biography of Carol Weiss King.


Works

* "The Sacco-Vanzetti Case is not Dead," ''
New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA. It succeeded both ''The Masses'' (1912–1917) and ''The Liberator''. ''New Masses'' was later merged into '' Masses & Mainstream'' (19 ...
'' (1933)


References


External sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King 1895 births 1952 deaths Immigration lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Jewish American attorneys American civil rights activists Women civil rights activists Barnard College alumni Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 20th-century American women lawyers New York University alumni 20th-century American Jews