Philadelphia Freedom; Memoir of a Civil Rights Lawyer
Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2008. First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. Format is approximately 6 inches by 9 inches. [8], 424, [4] pages. Author's Note. Notes. Index. Signed with comment on half-title page. Reads: In Peace, David Kairys. David Kairys (born April 16, 1943, in Baltimore, Maryland) is Professor of Law at Temple University School of Law.[2][3] He is the first James E. Beasley Chair (2001–07). Kairys is a civil rights lawyer. He authored Philadelphia Freedom, Memoir of a Civil Rights Lawyer and With Liberty and Justice for Some. He is a gun control proponent. He is also a strong advocate for removing money corruption from politics. Kairys earned a B.S. from Cornell University (1965), an LL.B. from Columbia Law School (1968), and an LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1971). He specializes in constitutional law and civil rights law. He was a founding partner and is of counsel to Kairys, Rudovsky, Epstein, Messing & Rau. Among his awards are the Alliance for Justice honor list for 2008, the Association of American Law Schools 2007 Deborah Rhode Award for extraordinary contribution to public interest by a law professor, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania's Civil Liberties Award, the Poor Richard Club of Philadelphia Pro Bono Award, the Freil-Scanlan Award (Temple law faculty scholarship), and the First James E. Beasley Chair (Temple Law School). A memoir that is also a compelling page-turner, Philadelphia Freedom is the poignant, informative, often inspiring account of renowned civil-rights lawyer David Kairys's personal quest for achieving social justice during the turbulent 1960s and 70s. Philadelphia Freedom brings us intimately and directly into Kairys's burgeoning law career and the struggles of the 60s as his professional and private life navigated the turmoil and promise of the civil rights and antiwar movements. Many of the cases Kairys took on involved discrimination and equal protection, freedom of speech, and government malfeasance. Kairys is perhaps most well known for his victory in the Camden 28 draft board case, in which the FBI set up a sting of the Catholic anti-war left at the behest of the highest levels of government. The stories and cases range from nationally important and recognizable---the family of the scientist the CIA unwittingly gave LSD in the 1950s; the leading race discrimination case against the FBI; Dr. Benjamin Spock's First Amendment case before the Supreme Court; the city handgun lawsuits Kairys conceived---to those he encountered in his early work as a public defender. The characters include public figures such as FBI Directors J. Edgar Hoover and Louis Freeh; CIA Director William Colby; Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter; New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer; U.S. Attorneys General Edward Levi and John Mitchell; Georgia Governor Lester Maddox; Pennsylvania Governor, former Philadelphia Mayor, and Democratic National Committee chair Ed Rendell; Philadelphia Mayor and Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo. But some of the most memorable are not well known, involving regular people caught up in the often heartless machinery of the courts and legal system. Though it reads like a novel, with all the elements of character, plot, and suspense, Philadelphia Freedom also has historical significance as a firsthand account. Condition: Very good / No dust jacket issued.
Keywords: Civil Rights, Trial, Rizzo, Free Speech, Jury, Civil Liberties, Civil Disobedience, FBI, Federal Bureau, Police, Law Enforcement, David Rudovsky, Vietnam War, Antiwar Movement
ISBN: 9780472033102
[Book #85091]
Price: $125.00