Charles David Breitel (December 12, 1908,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

– December 1, 1991,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1974 to 1978.

Private life

He was the son of Harry Herman Breitel (born on 10 Apr 1873, in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire, now

Lviv, Ukraine Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

) and Regina D. Breitel (née Zuckerberg, born in Austria). His parents had 4 children, 3 of which were born in Austria: Sadie (1889–1990), Lillian (born on 10 June 1897 in Lemberg), Ethel Ettie (born 1905 in Austria), and Charles David (born on December 12, 1908, in

). His father died in 1911. His family was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. He attended the public schools in New York City. On April 9, 1927, 19-year-old Charles married 18-year-old Jeanne S. Hollander (1909–1996), who was also to become a lawyer. He earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1929, and a law degree from Columbia University Law School. The Breitels have had two daughters: Eleanor (Breitel) Alter (1938–), a lawyer in Manhattan; and Vivian Hollander Breitel (1945–), who lives in Houston, Texas.

Career

From 1934 to 1950, he worked for

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

. While Dewey was, successively, New York City's Special Prosecutor of Rackets, District Attorney of

New York County Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, briefly in private law practice, and from 1943 on Governor of New York, Breitel was Assistant D.A., Dewey's law partner, and Counsel to the Governor. In 1950, Dewey appointed him a justice of the New York Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Samuel Null. In December 1950, Dewey re-appointed Breitel to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Ferdinand Pecora Ferdinand Pecora (January 6, 1882 – December 7, 1971) was an American lawyer and New York State Supreme Court judge who became famous in the 1930s as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency during its investi ...

. In November 1951, he was elected on the Republican and Democratic tickets to a 14-year term, and re-elected in 1965. He was on the Appellate Division from 1952 to 1966. In January 1967, he was appointed a judge of the New York Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Stanley H. Fuld as Chief Judge. In November 1967, he was elected to a 14-year term. In November 1973, he was elected on the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

tickets Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, defeating Democrat Jacob D. Fuchsberg and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

James J. Leff. As Chief Judge, he was a strong proponent of changing the way of choosing the Court of Appeals' judges from popular election, which had been the system since its establishment in 1846, to having them appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the New York State Senate. New York State voters approved the constitutional amendment. He retired from the bench at the end of 1978 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. His successor as Chief Judge was Lawrence H. Cooke, appointed by Governor Hugh L. Carey in 1979.

Death

He had a stroke in September 1990, and two months later entered the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home in Manhattan where he died of heart failure the next year, aged 82.

References

Sources

Listing of Court of Appeals judges, with portrait

Obit in NYT on December 3, 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Breitel, Charles David 1908 births 1991 deaths American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Chief Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Columbia Law School alumni Jewish American people in New York (state) politics Lawyers from Manhattan University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American judges New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department justices