Obituaries

Bassiouni, former law prof who championed human rights, dies at 79

Updated: M. Cherif Bassiouni, a human rights advocate and former DePaul University law professor, has died at the age of 79. Bassiouni died Monday at his Chicago home, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. He had multiple myeloma. The Sun-Times calls Bassiouni “a champion of human rights who fought torture, war crimes…

Sep 26, 2017 12:25 PM CDT

Former ABA president and WWII veteran David Brink dies at 97

Former ABA President David Brink has passed away at 97. Brink, who during his 1981-1982 tenure championed Human Rights Trial Observer programs and extending the rule of law internationally, was a retired partner at Dorsey & Whitney. Brink died on Thursday in Minneapolis. “David was a tremendous contributor to the…

Jul 25, 2017 3:51 PM CDT

F. Leary Davis, founding dean of two law schools, dies at age 75

The only person believed to be the founding dean of two law schools has died at the age of 75. F. Leary Davis Jr. died Thursday from leukemia and Hodgkin’s lymphoma at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the Greensboro News & Record reports. Davis was named dean of…

Jul 24, 2017 3:01 PM CDT

Former ABA President Alfred P. (A.P.) Carlton dies

Updated: Former ABA President Alfred P. (A.P.) Carlton of Raleigh, North Carolina, died on Thursday at the age of 69. As ABA president from 2002 to 2003, Carlton worked to protect judicial independence, reform corporate governance and promote the rule of law in Iraq, according to a statement by current…

May 25, 2017 3:28 PM CDT

Former ABA president Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III dies

Former ABA president Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III, an “indefatigable champion of the rule of law,” died Tuesday at the age of 72.

Robinson was an active member of the ABA for more than 35 years, according to a statement expressing sympathy by current ABA President Linda A. Klein.

He served as ABA president in 2011-12 and as ABA treasurer in 2005-08. He “will be missed by the entire ABA family and legal community,” Klein said.

May 9, 2017 4:36 PM CDT

Police find no criminality in death of judge on New York’s top court

Police have concluded the death of Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam of the New York Court of Appeals was a likely suicide. New York City police closed their investigation and sent the case to the medical examiner for a final determination on the cause of death, reports NPR, the Wall Street Journal…

May 4, 2017 9:57 AM CDT

Famed defense lawyer Richard ‘Racehorse’ Haynes dies

The storied, colorful, extraordinarily successful Houston criminal defense lawyer Richard “Racehorse” Haynes died early Friday, not long after his 90th birthday, the Houston Chronicle reports. Haynes’ style and demeanor changed when he entered a courtroom, where he would go from easygoing to taking command of the place, Chris Tritico, the…

Apr 28, 2017 3:03 PM CDT

Judge on top New York court is found dead in Hudson River

Updated and corrected: Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam of the New York Court of Appeals was found dead Wednesday afternoon in the Hudson River after her husband had reported her missing.

Apr 13, 2017 8:36 AM CDT

Civil rights lawyer who worked on Brown v. Board of Education dies at 96

A civil rights lawyer who helped write the briefs in the landmark school desegregation decision Brown v. Board of Education has died at age 96. William Coleman Jr. died Friday at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease, report the Associated Press and the Washington Post.…

Apr 3, 2017 11:59 AM CDT

Lynne Stewart, defense lawyer once convicted of aiding terrorism, dies

Lynne Stewart, a criminal defense attorney whose clients included an Egyptian cleric convicted of orchestrating the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, has died. She was 77.

Mar 8, 2017 9:00 AM CST

Farewell to a Friend: Janet Reno worked closely with the ABA

Janet Reno’s death in November was felt acutely in the ranks of the American Bar Association. Several ABA leaders described Reno, who worked as U.S. attorney general from 1993 to 2001, as a great friend of the association. In many ways, the feeling was mutual.

Mar 1, 2017 1:15 AM CST

Judge Joseph Wapner dies at 97

Judge Joseph Wapner, the California judge who achieved TV fame as the judge on The People’s Court, has died at age 97. Wapner presided in the television courtroom from 1981 to 1993, report the Associated Press, the Washington Post and the New York Times. Before his star turn, Wapner was…

Feb 27, 2017 10:54 AM CST

Plaintiff in ‘Roe v. Wade’ dies at 69; she later switched sides and opposed abortion rights

Norma McCorvey, who was the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, has died at age 69. McCorvey died from a heart ailment on Feb. 18 at an assisted living facility in Texas, report the Washington Post and the New York Times. The source for the information was Joshua Prager, a journalist…

Feb 21, 2017 10:00 AM CST

Fox Rothschild lawyer dies at 104; he was still practicing law

A senior counsel at Fox Rothschild who rejected the idea of retirement died on Monday at the age of 104. Murray Shusterman began practicing law in 1936 and continued to practice at the Philadelphia law firm that he had joined in 1969, report the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Legal Intelligencer…

Dec 8, 2016 7:45 AM CST

Janet Reno dies at 78; she was the first female US attorney general

Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno died on Monday at the age of 78. Reno, the first woman to serve as attorney general, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease, report the New York Times, the Washington Post and the National Law Journal (sub. req.). in a statement expressing condolences, ABA…

Nov 7, 2016 8:32 AM CST