George N. Leighton
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George Neves Leighton (born George Neves Leitão; October 22, 1912 – June 6, 2018) was an American judge who served as a
United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois ar ...
. He was known for taking cases related to housing, voting, and jury service, especially if these cases were directly impacted by injustice, particularly racism.


Early life

George Neves Leitão and his twin sister Georgina were born in
New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
on October 22, 1912 to Ana Silva Garcia and António Neves Leitão, immigrants from
Brava Brava or La Brava may refer to: Geography *Brava, Cape Verde, a volcanic island * Brava, Costa Rica, an island of Costa Rica (Isla Brava) *Costa Brava, a coastal area Mediterranean of northeast Spain *Barawa, a town in Somalia commonly known as ' ...
,
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
. At home, the family spoke
Crioulo The Portuguese word ''crioulo'' (''crioula'', ''crioulos'', ''crioulas'') may refer to: * In Brazil, a Afro-Brazilian, person of African ancestry * A creole language, especially one of the Portuguese-based creole languages * Criollo horse, also k ...
. His surname was
anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
to "Leighton" after a teacher claimed she could not pronounce his last name "Leitão." Leighton left school after sixth grade to work with his father picking cranberries, strawberries, and blueberries. He also worked on an oil tanker that sailed from
Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
to
Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...
. He read voraciously throughout his late childhood and began attending night school through the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
starting in 1934 to make up for his lack of diploma.


Education and military

In 1936, Leighton won $200 from the Cape Verdean Memorial Scholarship Fund and applied to
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
. He was initially rejected, but F.D. Wilkinson, the school's registrar, agreed to let him enroll as a non-degree student, and that if he could prove he could succeed without a high school education, the university would change his status to degree-seeking. To further complicate matters, Leighton recalls having a poor grasp on the English language before attending Howard. Despite this, he made the
Dean's List A dean's list is an academic award, or distinction, used to recognize the highest level scholarship demonstrated by students in a college or university. This system is most often used in North America, though institutions in Europe, Asia, and Aust ...
during his first semester and was made a candidate for degree. He remained on the Dean's List every semester until he graduated ''
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
'' with a bachelor's in history in 1940. While at Howard, one of his
Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...
brothers recommended him for the position of the Assistant to the Dean of Men, which gave him free housing and tuition. He was also inducted into
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
and earned a commission from Howard's AROTC. James McCauley Landis, the Dean of
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 ...
, granted him a first-year scholarship and admitted him. World War II began in his second year and he was sent to
Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
in
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in March 1942. At the end of
basic BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
, he was sent to
Fort Huachuca Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, appr ...
in
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before shipping out to the
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as part of the segregated 93rd Infantry Division. He became a military captain and earned a
Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...
, the
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, the Asiatic Pacific Service Metal, and the
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for his service. After the war ended in 1945, he returned to the Law School and earned his
LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degree the following year.


Law career

He passed the Massachusetts Bar in 1946; then, impressed that Black congressman William Dawson had been elected to public office, moved to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
and passed the
Illinois Bar 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 ...
in 1947. His early years as a lawyer were spent in private practice, including with Christopher C. Wimbish. From 1947 and 1952, he was the president of the Third Ward Regular Democratic Organization; he then was elected Assistant State Attorney General of Illinois in 1949. He served two terms and left in 1951 to co-found Moore, Ming, and Leighton (later McCoy, Ming, and Leighton), one of the largest Black law firms in the United States. Chicago was still deeply segregated at this time and he was unable to rent an office from a white landlord, so he moved to the South Side and worked near
Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...
. Many of his clients were too poor to afford his services, so he often worked for free, and when he was paid, it was usually between $50 and $100. In 1964, Chicago Mayor
Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been cal ...
asked Leighton to run for Circuit Court judge; he was elected in 1964 and won by a landslide despite being the only Black person on the 18-person Democratic ticket. He began teaching at the John Marshall Law School the following year; he was later involved in convincing the American Bar Association to continue accrediting evening law programs. In 1969,
Walter V. Schaefer Walter Vincent Schaefer (December 10, 1904 – June 15, 1986) was an American jurist and educator. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Schaefer graduated from Hyde Park High School and then received his bachelor's and law degrees from University of C ...
, Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Illinois The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...
, asked Leighton to accept an assignment to the Illinois Court of Appeals in Illinois' First District. He accepted and served in that role for 11 years. He was the first Black man to be appointed to this position. In 1975, he was again contacted for a promotion.
Charles H. Percy Charles Harting Percy (September 27, 1919 – September 17, 2011) was an American businessman and politician. He was president of the Bell & Howell Corporation from 1949 to 1964, and served as a Republican U.S. senator from Illinois from 1967 ...
, a Republican Senator in Illinois, recommended Leighton to President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
as a
United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
judge. Leighton was sworn in in front of a Republican-controlled Senate and held the role until 1987, when his wife Virginia became ill and he stepped down from the bench. He had been made a
senior judge Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at least ...
the year before. He became counsel for Neal & Associates (now Neal & Leroy), a minority-owned firm, to earn enough money for Virginia's around-the-clock medical care and only left the practice in 2011 at age 99. Leighton often traveled to the South to provide legal counsel, especially on civil rights issues. He brushed shoulders with many notable Black professionals; he mentored several Chicago lawyers including
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
and at one point had
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
as a client.


Notable cases


''Schnell v. Davis'' (1949)

More generally known as the Boswell Amendment case, ''Schnell v. Davis'' was a lawsuit filed in response to the Boswell Amendment, which required voter registrants to pass a test before being allowed to vote. The test was to be able to explain a provision of the U.S. Constitution. Leighton traveled from Chicago to
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
to serve as counsel alongside David R. Landau to 10 Black people who were told their answers were not satisfactory, while "white applicants with less qualifications were registered." The defense consisted of Governor
Jim Folsom James Elisha Folsom, Sr. (October 9, 1908 – November 21, 1987), commonly known as Jim Folsom or Big Jim Folsom, was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of the U.S. state of Alabama, having served from 1947 to 1951, and ag ...
and the Mobile County Board of Registrars; their attorneys were Alabama Attorney General Albert A. Carmichael, Assistant Alabama Attorney General
Si Garrett Silas Coma Garrett III (March 28, 1913 – July 24, 1967) was an American politician and attorney who served as Attorney General of Alabama for from 1951 to 1954. Garrett was born in Grove Hill, Alabama, the son of Judge Silas Coma Garrett Jr., ...
, Geneva County Representative (and writer of the Boswell Amendment) E.C. "Bud" Boswell, Klan leader Ira B. Thompson, Kenneth Griffith, and Carl Booth. Plaintiffs argued their qualifications satisfied all other requirements and requested that the judge declare the Boswell Amendment unconstitutional. Eventually, a three-judge court declared it unconstitutional on the grounds of being used to discriminate "for the franchise of the basis of race and color." Judge Mullins agreed that the Amendment violated the Fifteenth Amendment.


Harrisburg desegregation case (1951)

In 1950, Harrisburg City schools in
Harrisburg, Illinois Harrisburg () is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Illinois, United States. It is located about southwest of Evansville, Indiana, and southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Its 2020 population was 8,219, and the surrounding Harrisbur ...
blocked Black children from applying to schools other than the historically Black-only Lincoln School, alleging that the applications came in late and that "arrangements had already been made for enrollment at customary schools." Defendants in the case were Dale Wilson, county superintendent of schools; Russell Malan, superintendent of Harrisburg schools; and D.B. McGehee, president of the Board of Education for School District 43; they were represented by George B. Lee and L.M. Hancock. Leighton, representing 6 parents and their 14 children, filed a lawsuit for injunction that Harrisburg schools be ordered to desegregate. He also mentioned that Black-only schools had poorer facilities and resources than white-only schools, and that segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment. In March 1951, Harrisburg schools were ordered to desegregate schools by October 1. Judge Casper Platt told the school board they had a month to put their intent to desegregate into a legal document, including the date that schools must be desegregated by. The Board agreed to zone Black children to the schools nearest their home, and to close the Black-only school. In October 1951, inspectors visited the schools to ensure desegregation had adequately taken place. Around the same time, Leighton and colleague
William Robert Ming William Robert Ming Jr. (May 7, 1911 – June 30, 1973) was an American lawyer, attorney with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and law professor at University of Chicago Law School and Howard University School ...
worked a similar case in
Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...
with counsel from
Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...
.


Cicero race riots (1951)

In 1951, WWII veteran Harvey Clark and his family attempted to rent an apartment owned by Camille DeRose in the all-white suburb of
Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an Incorporated town#Illinois, incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was ...
and were quickly turned away by the sheriff. Leighton gave them legal permission to rent. When they returned to Cicero in July 1951, however, about 4,000 white residents rioted and the apartment building was set on fire. While 60 police officers were on site, they reportedly did not provide crowd control, though they did eventually request that the firemen turn their hose on the rioters; they were refused. County Sheriff John E. Babb contacted Governor Adlai Stevenson to request the
Illinois National Guard The Illinois National Guard comprises both Army National Guard and Air National Guard components of Illinois. As of 2013, the Illinois National Guard has approximately 13,200 members. The National Guard is the only United States military force emp ...
be sent in. The mob caused more than $20,000 in damage and 119 rioters were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly. Along with five others, Leighton was indicted for inciting the
riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...
. Three months later, Assistant State Attorney James A. Brown requested the charges be dropped against Leighton. Leighton used the false indictment charges against him as a lesson in understanding "defendants hosay to me, 'Judge, I ain't guilty,' I could see what he meant because I had gone through the same thing." All indictments were eventually dismissed, barring the one against Cicero Police Chief Erwin Konovsky, who was charged for "
malfeasance in office Malfeasance in office is often grounds for a just cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election. Malfeasance in office contrasts with "misfeasance in office", which is the commission of a ''lawful'' act, done in an officia ...
in failing to prevent the mob from rioting." Fines dealt to three police officers, including Konovsky, were sentenced, but later repealed by the Illinois Court of Appeals. In October 1951, a federal jury was formed to investigate the riot. The NAACP provided counsel for the Clark family in his $200,000 suit against Cicero. The case wrapped up in April 1957 when Cicero agreed to settle with Camille DeRose for $4,300 and with the Clarks for $2,400. The Clarks subsequently moved to Detroit. After the riot, a Black family purchased the home from Camille DeRose and "rent dto all comers, preferably negro and white war veterans."


Earl Howard Pugh (1955)

In 1936, Earl Howard Pugh and William Fowler were arrested of murdering railway worker William Hagg during a robbery. Pugh received life in prison and Fowler was given 199 years. In 1951, Leighton found that the arresting officers had intimidated a false confession out of the two men and concealed documents that would have shown they were not guilty. Fowler died in 1949 in prison and Pugh was released in 1955 and awarded $51,000 from the
Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...
in retribution. Pugh was 20 at the time he entered prison and 37 upon his release.


Martin Luther King Jr. (1960)

In 1960,
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
was arrested for a traffic violation in
DeKalb County, Georgia DeKalb County (, , ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur. DeKalb County is inclu ...
near Atlanta. He and his wife had invited white writer Lillian Smith to dinner and he was driving her back to
Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
, where she was receiving cancer treatments, when he was pulled over and falsely charged for driving without a license. He was placed on a probation that would end in jail time if he broke any more laws; he was not informed of this and a few days later participated in a sit-in at
Rich's Department Store Rich's was a family-owned business that was established in 1962, grew out of Jerry's Army Navy Surplus in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The Rich family once operated 29 stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, which offered disco ...
. He was arrested and sentenced to four months in prison. Leighton and
Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...
represented him during his appeal. While in jail, King contacted presidential candidates
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
and
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
. Nixon did not respond but Kennedy called Coretta; a few days later,
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
contacted the sentencing judge and the decision was reversed.


''Lloyd Eldon Miller Jr. v. Pate'' (1967)

Lloyd Miller was convicted on September 29, 1956 in
Carthage, Illinois Carthage is a city and the county seat of Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,490 as of the 2020 census, Carthage is best known for being the site of the 1844 death of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint mov ...
on charge of the November 1955 rape and murder of 8-year-old Janice May of
Canton, Illinois Canton is the largest city in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,704 at the 2010 census, down from 15,288 as of the 2000 census. The Canton Micropolitan Statistical Area covers all of Fulton County; it is in turn, part ...
. Less than a month later, he was sentenced to death by electric chair. Miller appealed a number of times, nearly once per year, but they were continuously dismissed. Leighton joined the case
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 ...
in 1963 and alleged that the prosecution had buried evidence that would have immediately exonerated Miller. Judge
Joseph Sam Perry Joseph Samuel Perry (November 30, 1896 – February 18, 1984) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Early life and education Born in Carbon Hill, Alabama, Perry was the so ...
contacted the Illinois Supreme Court, who had already rejected four of Miller's appeals, to request a deferral of Miller's execution so he might be retried. Not long after, a journalist who worked on the Miller case spoke to his children and learned that the girls, 7 and 8 at the time, had seen Miller at the supposed time of the murder but didn't realize this should have been reported. Miller was renting a room from their grandmother at the time and had requested someone wake him from his nap at 4:00pm; May's body was found at 4:30pm. One of Miller's ex-girlfriends, who testified he had told her he murdered May, came forward about lying on the stand and that she had done so at the request of the Fulton County Deputy Sherriff, who paid her off. In fact, what he told her was that he was going to be blamed for the death. Miller claimed that after his initial arrest, he was held for 52 hours and was not allowed to contact his family or attorney. He was told he could do so if he signed some documentation about the case, which he did not realize was a confession. Following the new eye-witness report and Miller's ex-girlfriend admitting to perjury, Judge Joseph Sam Perry told Hancock County authorities that they had to retry Miller within three months. A year later, the United States Court of Appeals found that Miller had been tried fairly and evidence was not misrepresented. Despite this, he requested another hearing a month later. He was granted one in 1966 by the
Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...
but the appeal was not successful in his favor. At the beginning of 1967, Miller's legal team found that prosecutors had withheld vital information for over eight years, that being the strand of hair found on May's body did not belong to Miller. They knew this information before the first trial even occurred. The case was elevated to the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, where the prosecutors were interrogated about the 1955 trial. Another article of evidence came forward: the stained shorts found near May's body were covered in paint, not blood as the defendants had led them to believe. The Supreme Court very quickly and unanimously withdrew the conviction because they refused to "tolerate a state criminal conviction obtained by the knowing use of false evidence." Miller was released from prison in March 1967 after 11 years in prison.


Membership and leadership

Leighton was part of a number of organizations and held numerous leadership positions: * Political memberships: **
Cook County Democratic Party The Cook County Democratic Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics (and consequently, Illinois politics) sinc ...
: Central Committee Chairman **
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
** Independent Voters of Illinois * Law memberships: **
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 ...
: Rights and Responsibilities Committee member; Judicial Administration Committee member; Legal Education Committee member; Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions member, vice Chairman, Chairman-elect, Chairman, Immediate Past Chairman (1970—1978) ** First Appellate District of Illinois: Chairman of the Character and Fitness Committee (1961—1963) **
Chicago Bar Association Founded in 1874, the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) is a voluntary bar association with over 20,000 members. Like other bar associations, it concerns itself with professional ethics, networking among members, and continuing legal education. It is ...
: Board of Managers member; Grievance Committee member; Librarian ** Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois: Master in Chancery (1960—1964) ** Cook County Bar Association ** Cosmopolitan Chamber of Commerce: Chairman of the Legislative Committee **
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 ...
: Chairman of the Bill of Rights Committee (1963) **
Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...
: Commissioner ** Inter-American Bar Association ** National Association of Defense Lawyers in Criminal Cases **
National Bar Association The National Bar Association (NBA) was founded in 1925 and is the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges. It represents the interests of approximately 65,000 lawyers, judges, law profess ...
**
Massachusetts Bar Association The Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) is a voluntary, non-profit bar association in Massachusetts with a headquarters on West Street in Boston's Downtown Crossing. The MBA also has a Western Massachusetts office. The purpose of the MBA is t ...
* Civil rights memberships: **
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 ...
, Illinois Division: Member of the Advisory Committee ** Citizens' Committee for the Adoption of the Fair Employment Practice Act: Member of drafting sub-committee ** Committee for the Adoption of an Open Occupancy Statue: Member **
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
Chicago chapter: Chairman of the Legal Redress Committee (1949—1952) Chicago chapter president (1952—1953); Chairman of the Political Action Committee and Legal Redress Committee (1962—1964); life member (1964—) ** US Commission on Civil Rights: Chairman of the Illinois Advisory Committee * University memberships: **
American College of Trial Lawyers The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) is a professional association of trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1950, the College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, especially tria ...
: Fellow **
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
: Overseer (1983—1989) ** Harvard Law School Association: International member **
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
: Chicago chapter president of alumni association (1947—1948) **
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
: Trustee (1979—1983), Trustee Emeritus (1983) * Honorary memberships: **
Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...
: Honorary Doctor of Laws degree (1989) **
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 ...
: Honorary member of the Chicago alumni chapter (2009) * Other memberships ** Chicago Committee on Urban Opportunity: Member ** Chicago Tuberculosis Institute: Board of Directors member ** Mayor's Citizens Committee on City Revenue and Expenditures: Member ** Grant Hospital: Board of Directors member **
Rand Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
: Overseer (1987) **
United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
: Public Review Board member (1961—1970) ** United Church of Christ (Chicago): Board of Directors member


Personal life and death

He met his wife Virginia Berry Quivers while at Howard University. They married in Washington, DC and had two daughters: Virginia Anne and Barbara Elaine. Virginia suffered several strokes in the late 1980s and Leighton insisted she receive around-the-clock care. He retired from the bench to earn more money in private practice. She died in 1992. Leighton turned 100 in October 2012. He spent his final years at the Brockton VA in Massachusetts. He died of pneumonia on June 6, 2018. He was survived by two daughters, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. He had always wanted to be buried at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
; his daughter Barbara and her husband Robert made sure he was. Leighton was an avid chess player and traveled regularly for major chess tournaments across the country, including the Eastern Open (DC), New York Open (NY), World Open (PA), National Open (NV), New England Open (MA), Michigan Open (MI), American Open (CA), Chicago Open (IL), and Bermuda International Open (1993 and 1995). He stopped traveling in 1997 and played his last tournament in the 2002 US Masters. In the 1980s, he beat Grandmaster Leonid Kaushansky.


Legacy and honors

In 2019, he was awarded the Medal of Merit First Class from the
Republic of Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
. He also received 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 ...
's first Diversity Leadership Award. *In 2005, a
USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
building in his hometown of
New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
was renamed the "Honorable Judge George N. Leighton Post Office Building" in his honor. * In 2008, Harvard Law School established the Honorable George N. Leighton Endowed Fund "to honor the judge's accomplishments and in hopes of providing a boost to other promising students" * In 2009, the Illinois Supreme Court established the "Honorable George N. Leighton Justice Award," which recognizes one who has given exceptional service to the legal community and exhibits the qualities that personified Judge Leighton's character, service and legal career. He was the first recipient. * In 2010, the
Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...
Historic Preservation Commission established the "Honorable George Leighton Justice Award," which recognizes "a career full of significant achievements." * In 2012, the Cook County Criminal Courthouse in Chicago was renamed the "Hon. George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building." * In 2018, shortly after his death, a tree was planted on the Alfred J. Gomes Elementary School campus in New Bedford in his honor.


See also

*
List of African-American jurists This list includes individuals self-identified as African Americans who have made prominent contributions to the field of law in the United States, especially as eminent judges or legal scholars. Individuals who may have obtained law degrees or ...


References


External links

*
Listing from American Inns of Court


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leighton, George M. 1912 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers African-American centenarians African-American judges African-American lawyers American centenarians American people of Cape Verdean descent Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Deaths from pneumonia in Massachusetts Harvard Law School alumni Howard University alumni Illinois Democrats Illinois state court judges John Marshall Law School (Chicago) faculty Judges of the Illinois Appellate Court Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Lawyers from Chicago Massachusetts Democrats Massachusetts lawyers Men centenarians Military personnel from Massachusetts NAACP activists People from Brockton, Massachusetts People from New Bedford, Massachusetts United States Army officers United States district court judges appointed by Gerald Ford