Irving Kaufman

(Redirected from Irving Robert Kaufman )

For the singer, see Irving Kaufman (singer) .

Irving Robert Kaufman (June 24, 1910 – February 1, 1992) was a United States federal judge , first on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York , and then on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit . Early in his tenure on the District Court, he became nationally known for presiding over the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg , and for sentencing the couple to death. Later in his career, he issued landmark rulings on cases involving the First Amendment , civil rights , and antitrust law . In 1987, he was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom .

Contents

• 1 Early life and education

• 2 Career

  • 2.1 United States District Court

    • 2.1.1 Rosenberg trial

    • 2.1.2 Other notable cases

  • 2.2 United States Court of Appeals

• 3 Death and legacy

• 4 See also

• 5 References

• 6 Further reading

• 7 External links

Early life and education

(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Irving_Kaufman&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: Early life and education")

Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn , New York City , Kaufman received a Bachelor of Laws from Fordham University School of Law in 1931. Although he was Jewish, Kaufman earned the nickname "Pope Kaufman" for his achievement in the required Christian doctrine classes at Fordham, a Catholic school.

Career

(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Irving_Kaufman&action=edit&section=2 "Edit section: Career")

After passing the bar exam , Kaufman had a private legal practice in New York City from 1932 to 1935. He then became a Special Assistant United States Attorney of the Southern District of New York from 1935 to 1939, and an Assistant United States Attorney from 1939 to 1940. He returned in 1940 to private practice in New York City. From 1947 to 1948, he served as Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States .

United States District Court

(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Irving_Kaufman&action=edit&section=3 "Edit section: United States District Court")

On October 21, 1949, Kaufman received a recess appointment from President Harry S. Truman to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York . It was a new seat created by 63 Stat. 493. He was nominated to the same seat by Truman on January 5, 1950, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 4, 1950.

Rosenberg trial

(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Irving_Kaufman&action=edit&section=4 "Edit section: Rosenberg trial")

Ethel Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg (1951)

In March 1951, less than a year into his District Court service, Kaufman presided over the atomic espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg , and their co-defendant Morton Sobell . In a controversial decision on April 5, 1951, Kaufman condemned the Rosenbergs to death. It is the trial he is most remembered for. Roy Cohn , one of the trial's prosecutors , wrote in his autobiography that his influence led to Kaufman's being assigned to the case and that Kaufman had imposed the death penalty on Cohn's personal advice. That has not been verified, though it was shown that after Kaufman learned the FBI and Justice Department opposed death penalties in the case, he asked the prosecution to withhold its recommendation before sentencing. At the conclusion of the trial, many considered Kaufman's summing up for the jury highly subjective.

In the sentencing hearing, he called the Rosenbergs' crime "worse than murder" and said it had:

already caused, in my opinion, the Communist aggression in Korea , with the resultant casualties exceeding 50,000 and who knows but that millions more of innocent people may pay the price of your treason.

Kaufman said he went to synagogue to pray for guidance before reaching his sentencing decision.

This enraged Jewish Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter , who opposed the death penalty. He wrote to Learned Hand , "I despise a judge who feels God told him to impose a death sentence", and also told Hand he was "mean enough" to stay on the Supreme Court long enough to prevent Kaufman from taking Frankfurter's place in the so-called "Jewish seat " on the court.

…