Stanley Fleishman (1920–1999) was an American attorney best known for his expertise in the constitutional defense of the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

in obscenity cases and for his advocacy on behalf of the disabled community.

Early life

Stanley Fleishman was born in the

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

in 1920, and grew up in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

. His father was an

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

who made his living as a printer. When he was a young child, Fleishman contracted polio, and needed to use crutches and braces for the rest of his life because of paralysis in his legs and arm. He attended college at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

, and graduated with a law degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1944.

Career

Fleishman moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1946 and almost immediately began his career as a defense lawyer for targets of obscenity laws, basing his defense on

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

. After twenty-five years of mostly successful outcomes in

obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...

trials, he began to advocate in the courtroom for

people with disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

, often in

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

lawsuits. He also was an active volunteer for

Southwestern Law School Southwestern Law School is a private law school in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an art deco National Register ...

’s Institute for the Disabled and the Elderly as well as the Western Law Center for the Handicapped.

Impact

Fleishman participated in and won many First Amendment obscenity cases, defending

adult movie theater An adult movie theater is a euphemistic term for a movie theater dedicated to the exhibition of pornographic films. Adult movie theaters show pornographic films primarily for either a respectively heterosexual or homosexual audience. For the patro ...

s, films such as '' Deep Throat,'' and well-known books such as ''

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...

'' by

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

, as well as lesser known works such as ''Sex Life of a Cop''. He also litigated many legal cases as an advocate for people with disabilities, including the right of disabled people to serve on juries and have unfettered access to buses, schools, and hotels. Fleishman argued many free speech cases before the Supreme Court. David L. Hudson, Jr. states that “His most important First Amendment case was arguably ''

Smith v. California ''Smith v. California'', 361 U.S. 147 (1959), was a U.S. Supreme Court case upholding the freedom of the press. The decision deemed unconstitutional a city ordinance that made one in possession of obscene books criminally liable because it did not ...

'', which established that booksellers could not be held strictly liable for the contents of every book on their shelves.”

Personal life

Fleishman was married to his wife, Doris, for more than 50 years, and had three children: Bette, Sue, and Judy. He and his family lived for many years in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

Death and legacy

Fleishman died of pneumonia on September 23, 1999 at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

. His papers are preserved at the Charles E. Young Research Library at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

as well as a smaller archive at the University Library at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

Awards

Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award The Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award is an award created in honor of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. The Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards were established in 1979 to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the vital effort ...

for Lifetime Achievement Award * Hal Freeman 'Freedom Isn't Free' Award * Independent Living Center of Southern California Lifetime Achievement Award

Publications

* "Sexual Unorthodoxy and the Law." ''Homophile Studies'', no. 5, Spring 1959, p. 52+. ''Archives of Sexuality and Gender''. * “Witchcraft and obscenity: twin superstitions.” ''Wilson Library Bulletin'' (April 1965). * ''Selected obscenity cases.'' Los Angeles : Blackstone Book Company, 1968. * “Abolish the Un-American obscenity laws.” ''Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities Newsletter,'' Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter 1977) (American Bar Association). * “Representing Notorious Clients” (co-authored with

Leonard Boudin Leonard B. Boudin (July 20, 1912 – November 24, 1989) was an American civil liberties attorney and left-wing activist who represented Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame and Dr. Benjamin Spock, the author of '' Baby and Child Care'', who ...

, Richard Hibey, and Dennis Riorden). ''Litigation'' Vol. 18, No. 1 (Fall 1991), pp. 8–13, 54-55. (American Bar Association).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleishman, Stanley 1920 births 1999 deaths Lawyers from the Bronx Columbia Law School alumni Brooklyn College alumni University of Georgia alumni American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish American attorneys 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American Jews