Morris Koenig (March 13, 1883 – December 1, 1939) was a Hungarian-born Jewish-American lawyer and judge from New York City.

Life

Koenig was born on March 13, 1883, in

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, the son of Joseph Koenig and Rose Schwartz. He immigrated to America in 1884. His older brother was Samuel S. Koenig. Koenig attended the College of the City of New York and the

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1905, after which he practiced law and became an active member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. In 1910, he became an assistant

District Attorney of New York County The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state la ...

. In 1915, Mayor

John Purroy Mitchel John Purroy Mitchel (July 19, 1879 – July 6, 1918) was the 95th mayor of New York, from 1914 to 1917. At 34, he was the second-youngest mayor and he is sometimes referred to as "The Boy Mayor of New York." Mitchel is remembered for his sho ...

appointed him Police Court Magistrate to succeed Justice John J. Freschi for a ten-year term. The appointment faced some criticism, as his brother Samuel was president of the Republican County Committee and William Blau was originally recommended for the position. However, Koenig was endorsed by representatives of the District Attorney's office, General Sessions judges, prominent members of the Bar Association, and Governor

Charles Seymour Whitman Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868March 29, 1947) was an American lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of New York from January 1, 1915, to December 31, 1918. An attorney and politician, he also served as a delegate from New York to t ...

. He previously served under Whitman when the latter was District Attorney. In 1921, Governor

Nathan L. Miller Nathan Lewis Miller (October 10, 1868 – June 26, 1953) was an American lawyer and politician who was Governor of New York from 1921 to 1922. Early life and education Nathan Miller was born on October 10, 1868, the son of Samuel Miller, a te ...

appointed him to the Court of General Sessions to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge William H. Wadhams. The appointment again received attention due to his brother Samuel, although he was endorsed by practically all of the judges and magistrates in New York City, a number of prominent lawyers, and representatives of civic organizations. Koening was elected to the bench for a full fourteen-year term that November as a candidate of both the Republican and the Democratic Parties. He was re-elected for another fourteen-year term with support from both parties in 1936. In 1926, he sentenced the Kraemer Brothers, members of the

Whittemore Gang The Whittemore Gang (April 11, 1924 – March 19, 1926) was a group of bank robbers active in the Mid-Atlantic United States, Mid-Atlantic and Eastern United States during the mid-1920s. Led by Richard Reese Whittemore (September 8, 1901 - August 1 ...

, to forty years in prison after finding them guilty of various holdups. In 1935, he sentenced Nelson B. Clark, a former

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, to ten years in prison for being the alleged brains behind the robbery of a

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

luggage store which led to the murder of a policeman. He was presiding judge in the 1933 case of Patrick Morris, who was convicted of conspiracy in posing as heir of the Wendell estate, and in the 1935 Martin-Mooney case, where he handed down a decision upheld by the Court of Appeals that a newspaper reporter wasn't privileged to withhold facts when testifying before a judiciary body. Koenig was a member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

, the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

, the

New York County Lawyers' Association The New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) is a bar association located in New York City. The New York County Lawyers Association was founded in 1908 because the existing bar association excluded some lawyers from membership due to their ra ...

, the

New York City Bar Association The New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization, formally known as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, has been headquartered in a ...

, the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, the

Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...

, and the Independent Order B'rith Abraham. In 1914, he married Minna Harlib. Their children were

Lester Koenig Lester Koenig (December 3, 1917 – November 20, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film producer, and founder of the jazz record label Contemporary Records. Biography Koenig was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Minna (Harli ...

and

Julian Koenig Julian Norman Koenig (; April 22, 1921 – June 12, 2014) was an American copywriter. He was inducted into The One Club Creative Hall of Fame in 1966. Early life and education Koenig was born to a Jewish family Koenig died at home from a brief illness on December 1, 1939. Over 2,000 people, including political leaders and prominent municipal, county, state, and federal jurists, attended his funeral at the

Park Avenue Synagogue The Park Avenue Synagogue ( he, אגודת ישרים, ''Agudat Yesharim'', The Association of the Righteous) is a Conservative Jewish congregation located at 50 East 87th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1882 ...

, with hundreds gathered outside on the streets in the rain. The attendees included

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

President

Newbold Morris Augustus Newbold Morris or Newbold Morris (February 2, 1902 – March 30, 1966) was an American politician, lawyer, president of the New York City Council, and two-time candidate for mayor of New York City. Early life Morris, who never used ...

, former Governor

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

, former Mayor

Jimmy Walker James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Beau James, was mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932. A flamboyant politician, he was a liberal Democrat and part of the powerful Tammany Hall machine. He was forced t ...

, former Judge

Samuel Seabury Samuel Seabury (November 30, 1729February 25, 1796) was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalist ...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

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 ...

with his entire staff, Representative

Bruce Barton Bruce Fairchild Barton (August 5, 1886 – July 5, 1967) was an American author, advertising executive, and Republican politician. He represented Manhattan in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1937 to 1941. In 1940, he ran for election to th ...

, Police Commissioner

Lewis J. Valentine Lewis Joseph Valentine (March 19, 1882 – December 16, 1946) was the New York City Police Commissioner from 1934 to 1945, under Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia during the Murder, Inc. era. He was the author of an autobiography ''Night stick: The autob ...

, License Commissioner Paul Moss, Tammany Hall leader Representative

Christopher D. Sullivan Christopher Daniel Sullivan (July 14, 1870 – August 3, 1942) was an American politician from New York who served twelve terms as a United States Congressman from 1917 to 1941. Life Born in New York City, he attended the public schools, St. Jame ...

, Republican County Committee chairman

Kenneth F. Simpson Kenneth Farrand Simpson (May 4, 1895 – January 25, 1941) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Biography Simpson was born in New York City on May 4, 1895, the son of Dr. William Kelly Simpson, a ...

, former Governor

, General Sessions Judges Saul S. Streit, Charles C. Nott Jr., Cornelius F. Collins, William Allen, Owen Bohan, and George L. Donnellan, Surrogate James A. Delehanty,

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Justices

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 ...

, Bernard L. Shientag,

Julius Miller Julius Miller (January 12, 1880 – February 3, 1955) was a judge and politician in New York City. He was a public figue for fuur decades, seving as Manhattan Borough President from 1922 to 1930, and as a New York State Supreme Court judge from ...

, Isidor Wasservogel, Peter Schmuck,

William T. Collins William Thomas Collins (June 30, 1886 - September 4, 1961) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as acting mayor of New York City for one day on December 31, 1925, after the retirement of John Francis Hylan. He was a member o ...

, Phillip J. McCook, Aaron J. Levy,

Mitchell May Mitchell May (July 10, 1870 – March 24, 1961) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. From 1899 to 1901, he served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Life He attended the public schools and Brooklyn Polytechnic Inst ...

, Charles J. Dodd, Charles C. Lockwood,

Meier Steinbrink Meier Steinbrink (February 28, 1880 – December 7, 1967) was a Jewish-American lawyer and judge from New York. Life Steinbrink was born on February 28, 1880 in New York City, New York, the son of Samuel Steinbrink and Fredricka Stern. His father ...

, and Algernon I. Nova, Federal Judges

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 ...

, and Murray Hulbert, Supreme Court Justice-elect Morris Eder, City Court Chief Justice Louis Wendel, Special Sessions Justices

Nathan D. Perlman Nathan David Perlman (August 2, 1887 – June 29, 1952) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life Born in Prusice, Poland, Perlman immigrated to the United States in 1891 with his mother where they settled in New York City. A ...

and James E. McDonald, former General Sessions Judge Alfred J. Talley, former United States Attorney George Z. Medalie, Municipal Court Justices Samuel Ecker and Michael Matteo, Domestic Relations Court Justice

Jacob Panken Jacob Panken (January 13, 1879 – February 4, 1968) was an American socialist politician, best remembered for his tenure as a New York municipal judge and frequent candidacies for high elected office on the ticket of the Socialist Party of Ame ...

, City Court Judge Samuel Coleman, General Sessions Judge-elect John A. Mullen, General Sessions Judge-elect Jonah J. Goldstein, and a large delegation from the

. Rabbi Milton Steinberg conducted the funeral service and delivered the eulogy. He was buried in Union Field Cemetery in

Ridgewood, Queens Ridgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick and East Williamsburg. Historically, the neighborhood s ...

References

1883 births 1939 deaths People from Eger 19th-century Hungarian Jews American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews Jewish American attorneys City College of New York alumni New York University School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from New York City New York (state) Republicans 20th-century American judges New York (state) state court judges American Freemasons Burials in New York (state) {{DEFAULTSORT:Koenig, Morris