Lloyd Paul Stryker (5 June 1885 – June 1955) was a 20th-century American attorney known as a "flamboyant criminal lawyer" and "perhaps the most celebrated criminal lawyer since

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...

", best known as chief of defense in the first criminal trial of

Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in con ...

for perjury in 1949.

Background

He was born on June 5, 1885, in Chicago to Melancthon Woolsey Stryker (a Presbyterian minister) and Elizabeth Goss. He had five siblings. In 1906 (or 1907), he received a BA from

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

, where his father was president. In 1909, he received an MA in law from

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...

. In 1933, he received a Doctorate of Humane Letters.

Career

In 1909, he was admitted to the New York bar. From 1910 to 1922, he was assistant district attorney in New York County. In 1914 (or 1912), he received the Republican nomination for judge of the New York City Court. He then formed the law firm of Whiteside and Stryker. He interrupted his career to serve in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

successively as second lieutenant, first lieutenant and captain in field artillery for the United States Army. In 1928, Stryker declined a chair in criminal law at Harvard University. In 1929, President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

nominated him for a federal judgeship, but before his confirmation, President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

came into office and did not renominate him. In 1930, Stryker renounced the Republican Party and went into practice by himself.

Hiss case

By 1947, ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine had published an article about him: "Trial Lawyer: Lloyd Paul Stryker is Archetype of Vanishing Courtroom Virtuoso". The author, Fred Rodell, wrote, "His close friend, the late

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio p ...

, once described Stryker as a 'curious mixture of

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...

, the late Abe Levy,

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, William Sylvanus Baxter Jr., and the bull of Bashan." Most famously, Stryker was lead defense counsel in the first of two criminal cases for perjury against

(both held in New York City). Yale Law School's biographical dictionary states, "His skillful, ferocious, and relentless cross-examination of

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), ...

... led to a hung jury."

Irving Younger Irving Younger (born Irving Yoskowitz; November 30, 1932 – March 13, 1988) was an American lawyer, law professor, judge, and writer. He is well known among lawyers and law students for his energetic talks on effective trial advocacy and legal ...

has called Stryker "the then-ablest criminal lawyer in practice" and "the preeminent criminal lawyer of his generation".

Later years

Stryker's practice dropped off after the Hiss Case.

Personal life and death

Stryker's father was president of Hamilton College and his sister, Alida Livingston Stryker (1881–1951), married Elihu Root Jr., son of the Hamilton alumnus and trustee

Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...

. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Stryker's use made popular the word "

boondoggle A boondoggle is a project that is considered a waste of both time and money, yet is often continued due to extraneous policy or political motivations. Etymology "Boondoggle" was the name of the newspaper of the Roosevelt Troop of the Boy Sco ...

". Stryker married Katherine Traux; they had one daughter. He was an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

. He died in June 1955.

Works

According to Younger, "Stryker was a very able writer. His work on the art of advocacy has, I think, never been surpassed and rarely equalled." Books: * ''Andrew Johnson—A Study in Courage'' (1929)
''Courts and Doctors''
(with a Preface by Charles G. Heyd, 1932) * ''For The Defense'' (1947) (biography of Thomas Erskine) * ''The Art of Advocacy'' (1954) Articles: * "Department of Amplification", ''New Yorker'' (December 25, 1937) * "Successful Trial Tactics, by A.S. Cutler", ''Indiana Law Journal'' (Summer 1949)

References

External sources

Getty Images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stryker, Lloyd 20th-century American lawyers 1885 births 1955 deaths Woolsey family