Robert James Gorman (April 22, 1915 – February 17, 2007) was a Chicago

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

who served at Normandy and was in the Jeep that General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

rode into Paris. Gorman was born in Chicago and died at his Chicago home. Admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1940 after graduation from

Chicago-Kent College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

, Gorman was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

in the early years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

until the Japanese bombed

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

, at which time he joined American forces, served as an interpreter with the allied army in France, and rose to the rank of lieutenant. After the war he practiced probate and civil rights law and was counsel for

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

in Chicago.

Legal career

While at the

Northwestern University Law School Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, ...

, Gorman was elected Justice (President) Of

Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is the largest professional law fraternity in the United States. Founded in 1902, P.A.D. has since grown to 717 established pre-law, law, and alumni chapters and over 330,000 initiated m ...

, the country's largest co-ed legal fraternity. Later, he became Justice of the Chicago Alumni Chapter and was also elected District Justice which covered a four state area. Gorman received his law degree in 1940 from

. After graduation from law school, he was admitted to the

Illinois State Bar Association The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) is among largest voluntary state bar associations in the United States. Approximately 28,000 lawyers are members of the ISBA. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA memb ...

on October 10, 1940 and immediately entered private practice. Shortly after war was declared, Gorman served four years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, being honorably discharged in January 1946. After serving in World War II, he practiced probate and civil rights law and was counsel for

in Chicago from the time of the school's inception during the 1940s until his retirement four decades later. He also successfully defended many conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War on a

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

basis, winning 19 out of 20 such cases that he took on. Other clients included Roy E. Eaton, who was wrongly imprisoned for 16 years for robbery before another man confessed to the crime. The story caught the attention of the national media, including the

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

. reprint of 1956 article
"The Case Of Prisoner No. 16688" appeared in the July 14, 1956 issue of ''Saturday Evening Post'' Eaton's case was later documented in an episode of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, ...

'' entitled "Error in Judgement" that featured an interview with Gorman in the closing segment. Error in Judgement
NBC's "Armstrong Circle Theatre" original air date: February 5, 1957 (Season 7, Episode 9) Subsequently, Gorman then won the first payment for a wrongful conviction case in Illinois when the State Legislature awarded Eaton a "personal injury" payment.

Personal life

Gorman's paternal ancestry originates in County Tyrone in Ireland. More recent generations lived in Canada. His parents, James Gorman and Isabel O'Brien, married in Chicago. Gorman and his wife, Helen J. Gorman (1920–2002), had three children: Robert, Gregory and

Candace Kandake, kadake or kentake ( Meroitic: 𐦲𐦷𐦲𐦡 ''kdke''),Kirsty Rowan"Revising the Sound Value of Meroitic D: A Phonological Approach,"''Beitrage zur Sudanforschung'' 10 (2009). often Latinised as Candace ( grc, Κανδάκη, ''Kandak� ...

Notes

External links

Obituary notice
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', February 20, 2007 * Larry Finley
"C - Won 1st Payment For Wrongful Conviction In State"
''

Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

''
"The Case Of Prisoner No. 16688"
reprint of 1956 article in the ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorman, Robert J. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Lawyers from Chicago 1915 births 2007 deaths American conscientious objectors Chicago-Kent College of Law alumni American people of Irish descent American people of Canadian descent 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War II