Author of new book about the judge who sentenced the Rosenbergs to speak at Akron Law
Martin Siegel
The 2023 Constitution Day Lecture at the University of Akron School of Law will feature author Martin J. Siegel discussing his new book, featured in The New York Review of Books, Judgment and Mercy: The Turbulent Life and Times of the Judge Who Condemned the Rosenbergs.
Siegel offers an insightful and absorbing biography of Judge Irving Robert Kaufman, the federal appellate judge infamous for condemning Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to death for atomic espionage. Siegel brings to life a complex man by turns tyrannical and warm, paranoid and altruistic, while revealing intramural Jewish battles over assimilation, class and patriotism. Siegel, who served as Kaufman's last law clerk, traces the evolution of American law and politics in the 20th century and shows how a judge unable to summon mercy for the Rosenbergs nonetheless helped expand freedom for all.
The lecture will be on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at noon in Room 180, followed by a book signing, see more details here.
The Center for Constitutional Law at Akron is one of four centers established by Congress on the bicentennial of the Constitution in 1986 for research and public education on the U.S. Constitution. It is directed by Professor Tracy Thomas, a national expert in gender and law, and supports affiliated faculty members, student research fellows, and certificate and master’s programs in constitutional law.
Later in the fall, the Center will host a conference, Gender, Health & the Constitution, on Friday, Oct. 13, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Law Room 180. The symposium will discuss the many emerging issues of gender and health that raise questions of constitutional law and policy. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is preferred.
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