Harvey Allen Silverglate (born May 10, 1942) is an attorney, journalist, writer, and co-founder of the

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the aim of protecting free speech rights on college campus ...

(FIRE). Silverglate was a member of the board of the Massachusetts chapter of 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 ...

and also taught at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...

, and at the

Cambridge Rindge and Latin School The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, also known as CRLS or "Rindge," is a public high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of the Cambridge Public School District. In 1977, two separate schools, the Rindge Technical ...

. He is an attorney in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. He practices in

academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...

civil liberties 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 may ...

criminal defense In the field of criminal law, there are a variety of conditions that will tend to negate elements of a crime (particularly the ''intent'' element), known as defenses. The label may be apt in jurisdictions where the ''accused'' may be assigned some ...

, and students' rights cases. He co-founded FIRE with

Alan Charles Kors Alan Charles Kors (born July 18, 1943) is Henry Charles Lea Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught the intellectual history of the 17th and 18th centuries. He has received both the Lindback Foundation Awar ...

. He served as chairman of the board of directors, and remains a member of the board.

Early life and education

He holds degrees 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 ...

(cum laude, 1964) and

(1967). He is a practicing attorney, specializing in

litigation,

, and students' rights cases. He is Of Counsel to the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based law firm Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein.

Career

In addition to his law practice, Silverglate is also a journalist and writer. He was a columnist for the ''

Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' and ...

'', writing on politics, law, and civil liberties. He also wrote a regular column for Forbes.com, and has written columns and op-eds for the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', the ''

National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly newspape ...

'',

Reason magazine ''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the ''Chicago Tribune''. History ''Reas ...

, ''Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly'', and other publications.Harvey Silverglate publications
, harveysilverglate.com; accessed March 20, 2008. He authored two books, ''The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses'' (co-authored with Alan Kors) and ''Three Felonies a Day'', which details the extension of vague federal criminal laws into daily conduct that would not be readily seen as criminal. Silverglate was a featured speaker at a rally by

Demand Progress Demand Progress is an internet activist-related entity encompassing a 501(c)4 arm sponsored by the Sixteen Thirty Fund and a 501(c)3 arm sponsored by the New Venture Fund. It specializes in online-intensive and other grassroots activism to suppor ...

in memory of

Aaron Swartz Aaron Hillel Swartz (November 8, 1986 – January 11, 2013) was an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivist. A prolific programmer, Swartz helped develop the web feed format RSS, the tech ...

and wrote an op-ed for ''Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly'' about his prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Lawyers familiar with the case told him the Middlesex County District Attorney's plan had been to resolve Swartz's case by having it "...continued without a finding, with Swartz duly admonished and then returned to civil society to continue his pioneering electronic work in a less legally questionable manner." As he explained to

CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

's Declan McCullagh

Under such a disposition, the charge is held in abeyance ("continued") without any verdict ("without a finding"). The defendant is on probation for a period of a few months up to maybe a couple of years at the most; if the defendant does not get into further legal trouble, the charge is dismissed, and the defendant has no criminal record. This is what the lawyers expected to happen when Swartz was arrested.McCullagh, Declan
"Swartz didn't face prison until feds took over case, report says"
cnet.com, January 25, 2013; retrieved May 1, 2015.

''"Tragedy intervened", Silverglate wrote in ''Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly'', "when nited States Attorney CarmenOrtiz's office took over the case to 'send a message".'' Silverglate was a candidate in the 2009

Harvard Board of Overseers The Harvard Board of Overseers (more formally The Honorable and Reverend the Board of Overseers) is one of Harvard University's two governing boards. Although its function is more consultative and less hands-on than the President and Fellows of Harv ...

elections. After collecting 315 signatures from Harvard alumni, he was nominated as
petition candidate
in early February 2009. His platform focused on reforming the student disciplinary board, eliminating speech codes, and restoring the student voice in university outreach efforts. His campaign had been covered in

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

Scot Lehigh
"Free Speech at Harvard"
boston.com; February 2009; accessed May 1, 2015. and the ''

Harvard Law Record The ''Harvard Law Record'' is an independent student-edited newspaper based at Harvard Law School. Founded in 1946, it is the oldest law school newspaper in the United States. Characteristics The ''Record'', a print and online publication, includ ...

'',Andrew Kalloch
"Silverglate seeks spot as university overseer"
, hlrecord.org; accessed May 1, 2015. and he made an appearance on Greater Boston with

Emily Rooney Emily Rooney (born January 17, 1950) is an American journalist, TV talk show and radio host and former news producer. She hosted the weekly program ''Beat the Press'' on WGBH-TV. until its cancellation on August 13, 2021. Career In the mid-to- ...

."Freedman on Greater Boston" (with Emily Rooney)
streams.wgbh.org; accessed May 1, 2015. Election results were announced at commencement, June 4, 2009, and Silverglate finished in eighth place, with 11,700 votes, 1600 short of winning a seat.Robert J. Ambrogi

legalblogwatch.typepad.com; accessed May 1, 2015. Silverglate was married to the

portrait photographer Portrait photography, or portraiture, is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective Photographic lighting, lighting, Painted photography backdrops, backdrops, and poses. A portr ...

Elsa Dorfman Elsa Dorfman (April 26, 1937May 30, 2020) was an American portrait photographer. She worked in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was known for her use of a large-format instant Polaroid camera. Early life and education Dorfman was born in Cambridg ...

, who died on May 30, 2020. Their son Isaac lives in

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 ...

Books

* ''Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent'' (September 2009),

Encounter Books Encounter Books is a book publisher in the United States known for publishing conservative authors. It was named for ''Encounter'', the now defunct literary magazine founded by Irving Kristol and Stephen Spender.

* ''The Shadow University: The Betrayal Of Liberty On America's Campuses'' by

(Author) and Harvey A. Silverglate (Author) (1999) * ''Conviction Machine: Standing Up to Federal Prosecutorial Abuse'' by

Sidney Powell Sidney Katherine Powell (born 1955) is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor, and conspiracy theorist who attempted to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, which led the State Bar of Texas to seek sanctions again ...

and Harvey A. Silverglate (2019)

References

External links

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
*
Harvey Silverglate.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverglate, Harvey A. Living people 1942 births Massachusetts lawyers American political writers American male non-fiction writers Free speech activists Harvard Law School alumni Harvard Law School faculty Princeton University alumni Lawyers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Place of birth missing (living people) Writers from Brooklyn

Early life and education

Career

Books

See also

References

External links