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A prominent attorney who didn't believe the eyes had it.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Ruth Schwartz
ASID - IFDA
Not surprisingly, Leibowitz
bowitz (who turned
Congratulations to our brilliant readers down the case, as he was not a much-loved figure in
who correctly identified Napoleon Bona- was leaving private the South, where he often was
parte as the man who told the Jews to practice and hoping to branded the "New York Jew
"arise with gladness, live again as a na obtain a judgeship). nigger lover" in newspapers.
tion among nations."
In 1940, the Democratic Par-
Reportedly, Lepke of-
Those with the answer were Jim Berg- fered Leibowitz the ty of Brooklyn supported Lei-
er, Ross John Fazio, Paul GoOdman, astounding figure of bowitz as judge for King's
Joseph Hirschfield, Morton Horwitz, $250,000 (remember, County Court. His detractors
Rachel Canaan-Kapen, Dr. Sheldon this was the 1930s) to were numerous, but Leibowitz
Kapen, Arthur Parnes, Alvin Shapiro and serve as his attorney. was not what they expected.
Lois Weiner.
Certainly one of While he remained determined
And now! The moment billions of read- Leibowitz's most de- to see that everyone got a de-
ers worldwide have been waiting for our spicable clients was fense, and would appoint a top-
next Tell Me Why challenge.
Vincent Coll, a.k.a. notch court attorney even to the
This talented actor and singer attend Mad Dog, accused of most dreadful of criminals, as a
ed Kansas University before finding fame shooting at five chil- judge Leibowitz was remarkably
in the first Broadway production of Evita, dren, one of whom severe, especially with those con-
where he played Che to Patti LuPone's died. In a move that victed of murder. Of his decision
Eva. Most recently, he starred as a hot- certainly set stan- to give the harshest sentences
tempered physician on a popular TV se- dards for today, Lei- he explained, "With hardened
ries. What's his name?
bowitz portrayed his criminals, toughness is all they
Send your guess to Tell IVIe Why, do The client as a fine, decent understand."
Jewish News, 27676 Franklin Road, gentleman, while he
Q: Since there always have been,
Southfield, MI 48034. Answers must be at questioned the in-
and
always likely will be, Arab res-
our office no later than Aug. 15.
. tegrity. of .those. who
idents
of Israel, I'm wondering
placed Mad Dog at
whether
the state's declaration of
Q: Many years ago I remember the scene of the crime.
independence
mentions them?
Leibowitz
also
was
ahead
of
watching a film about the Scotts-
his
time
when
it
boro Boys, a group of young black
came to focusing
men falsely accused of attacking on the nature of
two Southern white women. As I re- those serving on a
call, their lawyer was Jewish. What jury. At a time
when few attor-
can you tell me about him?
A: Samuel Leibowitz was a neys took pains to
man who summed up the word consider such can-
"flamboyant." He was a brilliant didates, Leibowitz
attorney whose clients usual- spent a great deal
ly were mobsters, though cer- of time prescreen-
tainly he was most famous for ing jurors (a ser-
his successful defense of the vice generously
paid for by his
Scottsboro Boys.
Born in Rumania, Leibowitz wealthy clients). Moshe Sharett, Golda Meir and David Ben-Gurion,
was a child when he came to He felt free to ask moments after the signing of Israel's Declaration of
the United States, where he put anything, includ- Independence in 1948.
himself through law school. It ing one's political
leanings, and managed to gar-
A: Indeed it did. In addition
wasn't long after graduating ner a reputation of being the
that he established a reputa- lawyer best able to select a sym- to speaking of the Holocaust,
tion for being able to discredit pathetic jury. In fact, of the 140 the dream of Jews to return to
eyewitness testimony, in which persons Leibowitz defended on their homeland and faith in
he placed little faith. To prove murder charges, only one was God, the declaration reads, in
part, "We appeal — in the very
his point that memory was any- sentenced to death.
midst of the onslaught against
thing but reliable, Leibowitz
Leibowitz's most famous case
would hold seminars where he began in 1931, when nine us now for months — to the
asked Camel smokers to de- young black men were arrest- Arab inhabitants of the State
scribe the man on the front of ed for attacking two white of Israel to preserve peace and
the pack. Invariably, the group women (who, what a surprise, participate in the upbuilding of
was divided as to whether the turned out to be anything but the state on the basis of full and
man was riding the camel, or upstanding characters). Lei- equal citizenship and due rep-
leading it, or whether there was bowitz got charges against four resentation in all its provision-
even any man at all (then-, was dropped, another four were re- al and permanent institutions."
not).
leased on parole, and one es-
Leibowitz gained fame ao - caped.
Send questions to Tell Me Why,
defender of mobsters.
Leibowitz also was a key fig- The Jewish News, 27676
clients included Benjamin ure in another case involving Franklin Road, Southfield, MI
"Bugsy" Siegel, Abe "Kid Twist" African-Americans, when he 48034, or fax to (248) 354-6069.
Reles and Al Capone, whom he successfully argued before the All letters Must be signed and in-
successfully defended against Supreme Court that blacks clude the writer's address. Ques-
charges of murder. When Louis should not be excluded from a dons answered in the column will
Lepke got in trouble with the jury simply based on the color featztre only the writer's initials
law, he, too, approached Lei- of their skin.
and city of residence.
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