Harold Joseph Hanson (9 August 1904 – 17 February 1973) was an eminent

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

( QC) and Senior Member of the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

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Early life

Harold Hanson was born in Johannesburg, son of Ralph Hanson, a Rand pioneer, and Clara Lewis. He was educated at Twist Street Government Primary School, Johannesburg, and King Edward VII High School where he passed the Matriculation Exam at the age of fourteen. Hanson studied law at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

and was called to the Bar in 1926 at the age of 22. He subsequently built up a large practice in Johannesburg dealing with

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

, criminal, and political cases.

Legal career

Harold Hanson was appointed a KC (later known as QC) in 1946. He was regarded as a very sound lawyer and a brilliant trial advocate. He appeared for the

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...

or accused in a number of the most important and lengthy cases in South African legal history. These included the Alexander libel case, an action for damages for

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

brought by F. M. Alexander, the founder of the Alexander Technique of psycho-physical education, against Drs Jokl, Cluver and Clark (1946–48); The Parity Insurance Company case (''State vs. Heller'') in which he defended the accused charged with

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

(1968–70) and ''Gentrico A.G vs. Firestone SA (Pty) Ltd'' in what has been called the greatest lawsuit in the 500-year history of patents. He believed strongly in

civil liberty Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...

and was well known for his support of political defendants, often acting on their behalf without a fee. He is perhaps best known for his contribution to the last day of the

Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, and led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the Palace of Justice ...

(12 June 1964) in which he readily accepted a request from his colleague and respected friend

Bram Fischer Abraham Louis Fischer (23 April 1908 – 8 May 1975) was a South African Communist lawyer of Afrikaner descent, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela, at the Rivonia T ...

to argue mitigation for the accused. Hanson made a brilliant political appeal in a trial of politically inspired offences which in effect pleaded for the lives of the accused. He compared the African struggle for civil rights to the early

Voortrekker The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyo ...

Afrikaner struggle and cited precedents for clement sentencing even in cases of high

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

which carried the death penalty.

Alan Paton Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' and '' Too Late the Phalarope''. Family Paton was born in Pietermaritzbu ...

, novelist, national president of the

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, a devout

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and opponent of violence was called as the only witness. Persuaded by Hanson's argument, respected witness and world opinion, the presiding judge, Justice Quartus de Wet, commuted the death penalty for high treason to life imprisonment. Hanson subsequently acted as counsel for

when he was brought to trial. E KhanE. Khan, ''Dictionary of South African Biography'' writes: "Hanson was big in every way: in intellect, in physique, in voice, in courage, in application, in determination. He was fearless, if ebullient and temperamental, in court. Ever eloquent — his colleagues would speak of "Hansonian eloquence" — he could develop an argument for his client on fact or law at the drop of a hat. In cross-examination he was penetrating and robust, and could be fierce; he had indeed a great reputation as a cross examiner. To counsel on the other side, he could prove an awkward opponent; but no one ever questioned his integrity".

Family

Hanson first married Mabel Martin with whom he adopted a son, Michael Anthony Hanson and then had a daughter, Clare Hanson. His second marriage was in 1945 to Anna Marie Berger (known as Anita). They had two daughters and a son. Anita predeceased Harold by 18 years, after which he married Cissie Pincus.

Notes

References

*J.R. Steyn, ''South African Law Journal'', (1972) 89:93 *''The Star'' Obituary 17 February 1973 *''Sunday Express'' Obituary 18 February 1973 *''Sunday Times'' Obituary 18 February 1973 *''

Rand Daily Mail ''The Rand Daily Mail'' was a South African newspaper published from 1902 until it was controversially closed in 1985 after adopting an outspoken anti-apartheid stance in the midst of a massive clampdown on activists by the security forces. The ...

'' Obituary 19 February 1973; 20 February 1973 *

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

, ''The first Bram Fischer memorial lecture'', 9 June 1995 *E. Khan, ''Dictionary of South African Biography'' (

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

; HSRC, 1987)
Carmel Rickard, ''The Trial of the Century''
''Sunday Times'' 2 January 2000

*Sentencing Statement of Justice Quartus de Wet in the Trial of Nelson Mandela *Private unpublished communication {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Harold 1904 births 1973 deaths People from Johannesburg South African people of British descent South African Jews Anti-apartheid activists 20th-century South African lawyers Alumni of King Edward VII School (Johannesburg) University of the Witwatersrand alumni