Leonard Weinglass Papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Leonard Irving Weinglass (1933--2011) was a U.S. criminal defense lawyer and constitutional law advocate who championed a number of liberal and radical causes. He served as co-chairman of the international committee of the National Lawyers Guild. Along with attorney William Kunstler, Weinglass represented the Chicago Seven in their 1968 trial. He also participated in the defense of Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo, who were charged with leaking the Pentagon Papers and whose trial ended in a dismissal of all charges. In 1970, he represented and won the acquittal of Angela Davis who was charged with participation in the abduction and murder of a local judge. Weinglass was the lead defense attorney for Mumia Abu-Jamal for several years. In 1995, he authored a book about Abu-Jamal's case entitled Race for Justice: Mumia Abu Jamal's Fight Against the Death Penalty. The unprocessed Leonard Weinglass Papers contain case files and related material for many famous legal struggles, such as the Pentagon Papers, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the Chicago Seven, as well as other cases, including those of Kurt Alan Stand and Susan Komarisuk. Weinglass's speaking engagements and research files also make up a significant part of the collection. Aside from paper records, the collection contains audio-visual materials and artwork.
Biographical Note
Leonard Irving Weinglass (August 27, 1933--March 23, 2011) graduated from Yale Law School in 1958 and was a U.S. criminal defense lawyer and constitutional law advocate who championed a number of liberal and radical causes. An expert in constitutional law, he served as co-chairman of the international committee of the National Lawyers Guild. Along with attorney William Kunstler, Weinglass represented the Chicago 7 in their 1968 trial. He also participated in the defense of Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo, who were charged with leaking the Pentagon Papers and whose trial ended in a dismissal of all charges. In 1970, he represented and won the acquittal of Angela Davis who was charged with participation in the abduction and murder of a local judge. Weinglass was the lead defense attorney for Mumia Abu-Jamal for several years. In 1995, he authored a book about Abu-Jamal's case entitled Race for Justice: Mumia Abu Jamal's Fight Against the Death Penalty.
Other prominent clients included Kathy Boudin, a member of the Weather Underground charged with felony murder for her participation in an armed robbery; anti-war activist Ron Kaufman; Bill and Emily Harris (of the SLA) and Jimi Simmons, among others. In 1972, Weinglass took on the defense of John Sinclair, Chairman of the White Panther Party in Detroit, Michigan. The case became United States v. U.S. District Court, 407 U.S. 297 (1972) on appeal to the United States Supreme Court, a landmark decision prohibiting the government's use of electronic surveillance without a warrant. In 1985, Weinglass successfully defended Stephen Bingham, an attorney accused of smuggling a handgun to George Jackson in San Quentin Prison setting off an escape attempt that resulted in the death of Jackson, two other inmates, and three prison guards. Weinglass was the lead appellate attorney for the Cuban Five from 2002 until his death in 2011.
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. Materials are in the order in which they were received from the donor.
Scope and Contents
The Leonard Weinglass Papers contain case files and related material for many famous legal struggles, such as the Pentagon Papers, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the Chicago Seven, as well as other cases, including those of Kurt Alan Stand and Susan Komarisuk. Weinglass's speaking engagements (including regarding the case of Daniel Ellsberg) and research files also make up a significant part of the collection. Aside from paper records, the collection contains audio-visual materials, born-digital materials, and artwork.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
People
Topics
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by Leonard Weinglass, was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Leonard Weinglass Papers; TAM 584; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Michael and Deborah Smith in 2011. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 2011.079, 2011.121, 2019.069, and 2019.146.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.
Separated Materials
One linear foot of books was separated to the Tamiment Library collection for cataloging.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding the arrangement, description, and physical interventions taken on this collection prior to 2019 have not yet been recorded. During accessioning in December 2019, materials were rehoused in new archival folders with original labels retained. Loose materials were placed in new archival folders. Four optical discs were identified, inventoried, and housed. Three of the discs were forensically imaged and processed, as one disc contained duplicate files.
New York University Libraries follows professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity of the content.
