Harold Raymond Medina (February 16, 1888 – March 14, 1990) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a United States district court, federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York (state), New York ...

Education and career

Medina was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

,Memorials: Harold R. Medina '09
, ''

Princeton Alumni Weekly The ''Princeton Alumni Weekly'' (''PAW'') is a magazine published for the alumni of Princeton University. It was founded in 1900 and, until 1977, it was the only weekly college alumni magazine in the United States. Upon changing to biweekly ...

'' (Sept. 12, 1990). to Joaquin Adolfo Medina and Elizabeth Fash Medina. His father was a

naturalized United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

from

Mérida, Yucatán Mérida () is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and the largest city in southeastern Mexico. The city is also the seat of the eponymous Municipality. It is located in the northwest corner of the Yucatán Peninsula, about 35 km (22 ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and his mother from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

of Dutch ancestry. Medina graduated from Holbrook Military Academy in Ossining, New York in 1905. Medina received an Artium Baccalaureus degree

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1909. He received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1912, graduating co-head of his class. He was in private practice of law in

from 1912 to 1947. He was a founder and lecturer for the Medina Bar Review Course in New York City from 1912 to 1942. He was an associate professor at Columbia Law School from 1915 to 1940.

Federal judicial service

Medina was nominated by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

on May 15, 1947, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Samuel Mandelbaum Samuel Mandelbaum (September 20, 1884 – November 20, 1946) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Education and career Born on September 20, 1884, in the Russian Empire, M ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on June 18, 1947, and received his commission on June 20, 1947. His service was terminated on June 23, 1951, due to his elevation to the Second Circuit. Medina was nominated by President Truman on June 11, 1951, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Learned Hand Billings Learned Hand ( ; January 27, 1872 – August 18, 1961) was an American jurist, lawyer, and judicial philosopher. He served as a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1909 to 1924 a ...

. He was confirmed by the Senate on June 21, 1951, and received his commission on June 23, 1951. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on March 1, 1958. His service was terminated on February 22, 1980, due to his retirement.

Notable cases

In 1949, Medina presided over the trial of 11 leaders of the United States

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

charged with advocating the violent overthrow of the government. This was known as

Foley Square trial The Smith Act trials of Communist Party leaders in New York City from 1949 to 1958 were the result of US federal government prosecutions in the postwar period and during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. Leaders of the ...

. In this case, the jury found all the defendants guilty, and Medina sentenced most of them to five years in prison. He also gave prison sentences to five of the defense attorneys on charges of

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

; among them was George William Crockett Jr., who later became a

Member of Congress A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

. Medina was the trial judge for the ''

Dennis v. United States ''Dennis v. United States'', 341 U.S. 494 (1951), was a United States Supreme Court case relating to Eugene Dennis, General Secretary of the Communist Party USA. The Court ruled that Dennis did not have the right under the First Amendment to the ...

'' case that reached the federal supreme court. Medina presided over the year-long

Investment Bankers Case ''United States v. Morgan'', 118 F. Supp. 621 (S.D.N.Y. 1953), more commonly referred to as the Investment Bankers Case was a multi-year antitrust case brought by the United States Justice Department against seventeen of the most prominent Wall ...

in 1951-1952, an

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

case against 17 of the most prominent

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

investment banking Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...

firms, known as the Wall Street Seventeen. He ruled in favor of the investment banks.

Death

Medina died on March 14, 1990, at Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, at 102 years of age, after residing at a nursing home in that city his last several years.

Honors

Medina was featured on the cover of ''Time'' in its October 24, 1949 edition. In 1957, Medina received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from

Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown College (informally E-town) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. History Founding and early years Founded in 1899, Elizabethtown College is one of many higher learning institutions founded in the 19th century by c ...

located in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

.Source: 1957 Conestogan Yearbook, Elizabethtown College J. Woodford Howard Jr., professor of political science emeritus at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, along with Professor Patrick Schmidt of

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

and Professor

David Yalof David Alistair Yalof is a Political science, political scientist and university administrator. On January 1, 2023, he became the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at College of William & Mary, William & Mary. He formerly served as professor and d ...

of the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

, are currently completing an authorized biography of Medina. The Harold R. Medina Professorship of Procedural Jurisprudence at

Columbia University School of Law Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

is named in Judge Medina's honor.

References

External sources

Harold R. Medina Papers at Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University

Princeton University
Video Recording: Medina Speaks at kickoff of $53 Million fundraising campaign on October 1, 1959 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Medina, Harold 1888 births 1990 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York United States district court judges appointed by Harry S. Truman Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Harry S. Truman 20th-century American judges American people of Mexican descent American people of Dutch descent Hispanic and Latino American judges Princeton University alumni Columbia Law School alumni American centenarians Men centenarians People from Westwood, New Jersey

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Notable cases

Death

Honors

See also

References

External sources