Leonard Weinglass

Leonard Weinglass, 77, of New York died March 23, 2011. Born in Belleville, he also lived in Kearny, Newark, and Los Angeles before moving to New York 28 years ago.

Mr. Weinglass, who practiced law in Newark, Los Angeles, and New York City, represented the Chicago 8 anti-war protesters in 1968. His clients also included Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers), Bill and Emily Harris (Patty Hearst kidnapping), Jane Fonda, Angela Davis, Kathy Boudin, and Amy Carter. In 1995 he documented his experiences as the attorney for Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer, in Race for Justice: Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Fight Against the Death Penalty. He most recently was the lead appellate attorney for the Cuban Five and also worked with the defense team for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

In 1974 he was the first recipient of the Clarence Darrow Award, and received the Humanitarian Award from the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles in 1980. He was also honored with the 1994 Outstanding Achievement Award by the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. The American Association for Justice annually bestows the Leonard Weinglass in Defense of Civil Liberties Award to a deserving recipient.

He served as a Captain Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force from 1959 to 1961.

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He is survived by two sisters, Elaine Nicastro and Natalie Franzblau; his brother, Steve; four nieces, Ilene Gutman, Dori Perez, Penny Oswald, and Sarah Robinson; a nephew, Scott Franzblau; and six great-nieces and -nephews.

Services were held March 27 with arrangements by Jewish Memorial Chapel, Clifton. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lustgarten Institute (www.lustgarten.org).