Clarence Darrow ca. 1922

Clarence Darrow (April 18, 1857 in Kinsman, Ohio – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer, best known for having defended Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murder and defending John T. Scopes in the so-called "Monkey Trial", opposing fundamentalist Christian prosecutor William Jennings Bryan. He remains famous for his wit, compassion and agnosticism that have marked him as one of the most famous American lawyers and civil libertarians. Download high resolution version (1122x1536, 132 KB) The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... Download high resolution version (1122x1536, 132 KB) The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The English surname Kinsman is occupational in origin, being one of those names based on the type of work a man once did or the profession he pursued. ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... For information on the type of fish called Lawyer, see the article on Burbot. ... Nathan Leopold (left) and Richard Loeb (center) under arrest Nathan Leopold, Jr. ... John Thomas Scopes (August 3, 1900 – October 21, 1970), a biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee at the age of 24, was charged on May 25, 1925 with violating Tennessees Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools. ... Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan chat in court during the trial. ... Fundamentalism is a movement to maintain strict adherence to founding principles. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. ... William Jennings Bryan, 1907 William Jennings Bryan, (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) born in Salem, Illinois, was a gifted orator and three-time United States Democratic nominee for President. ... Look up Wit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wit is a form of intellectual humour, based on manipulation of concepts; a wit is someone who excels in witty remarks, typically in conversation and spontaneously, since wit carries the connotation of speed of thought. ... Compassion (in Pali: Karuna) is a sense of shared suffering, most often combined with a desire to alleviate or reduce such suffering; to show special kindness to those who suffer. ... // Agnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth values of certain claims—particularly theological claims regarding the existence of God, gods, or deities—are unknown, inherently unknowable, or incoherent and therefore irrelevant to life. ... A civil libertarian is one who is actively concerned with the protection of individual civil liberties and civil rights. ...

After beginning his career as a corporations lawyer in Illinois, he switched sides to represent the American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, in the Pullman Strike of 1894. Darrow had conscientiously resigned his lucrative corporate position to represent the working class because he empathized with their plight. He also defended radical labor leaders such as Big Bill Haywood. A corporation is a legal entity (distinct from a natural person) that often has similar rights in law to those of a Civil law systems may refer to corporations as moral persons; they may also go by the name AS (anonymous society) or something similar, depending on language (see below). ... State nickname: Land of Lincoln, The Prairie State Other U.S. States Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) Official languages English Area 149,998 km² (25th)  - Land 143,968 km²  - Water 6,030 km² (4. ... On June 20, 1893, railway workers gathered in Chicago, Illinois, and founded the American Railway Union (ARU), the largest union of its time, and the first industrial union in the United States. ... Eugene Victor Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American labor and political leader and five-time Socialist Party candidate for President of the United States. ... Pullman Strike began on May 11, 1894. ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... William Dudley Big Bill Haywood (February 4, 1869–May 18, 1928) was a prominent figure in American radical unionism as a leader in the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) and later as a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). ...

Darrow successfully defended Haywood, the leader of the Industrial Workers of the World and the Western Federation of Miners, on charges of murdering the former governor of Idaho in 1905. He was not so successful when called on to defend the MacNamara Brothers, who were charged with dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building during the bitter struggle over the open shop in Southern California: Darrow convinced them to plead guilty in order to avoid the death penalty, and barely escaped conviction himself for an alleged attempt to bribe a juror. The IWW Label The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It contends that all workers should be united within a single union as a class and the profit system abolished. ... The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mine fields of the western United States. ... State nickname: Gem State Other U.S. States Capital Boise Largest city Boise Governor Dirk Kempthorne (R) Official languages none Area 216,632 km² (14th)  - Land 214,499 km²  - Water 2,133 km² (0. ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Los Angeles Times (also LA Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the western United States. ... In terms of United States labor relations, an open shop is a place of employment at which one cannot be required to join a labor union as a condition of hiring or continued employment. ... Southern California Los Angeles, rush hour on the Harbor Freeway San Diego Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal, is an informal name for the southern one-third of the state of California. ... This article is confusing for some readers, and needs to be edited for clarity. ...

Whether guilty or not, Darrow left labor practice to devote himself to opposing the death penalty, which he felt to be in conflict with humanitarian progress. In more than 100 cases, Darrow only lost one murder case in Chicago. He became renowned for moving juries and even judges to tears with his eloquence. Despite scant education, which included a year at the University of Michigan Law School, Darrow had a keen intellect often shielded by his rumpled, unassuming appearance. Contrary to popular belief, he did not oppose religious principle, but the intolerance and ignorance he claimed were preached by its more conservative practitioners, such as the fundamentalists. Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ... Eloquence (from Latin eloquentia) is fluent, forcible, elegant or persuasive speaking in public. ... An aerial view of the Law Quadrangle at the University of Michigan. ...

A story attributed to Darrow is his quip to a client, who, after winning, said, "How can I ever show my appreciation, Mr. Darrow?" Darrow replied, "Ever since the Phoenicians invented money, there has been only one answer to that question." However, Darrow's pursuit of wealth has been overstated by his detractors. Darrow often took on pro bono defendants who had no means to pay for their attorney. Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plain of what is now Lebanon and Syria. ... Pro bono, is a phrase derived from Latin meaning for the good. The complete phrase is pro bono publico, for the public good. It is a term used to designate legal or other professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment, as a public service. ...

During the 1924 Leopold-Loeb trial, when Darrow had supposedly accepted "a million-dollar defense", ordinary Americans were angered at their apparent betrayal. In truth, Darrow and his two co-counsels were given $100,000 to split three ways—after dunning the wealthy Loeb family for several months. 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nathan Leopold (left) and Richard Loeb (center) under arrest Nathan Leopold, Jr. ...

In 1925, he defended Ossian Sweet, a black doctor from Detroit, in the shooting death of a member of a white mob. The mob of at least a 1,000 people had gathered outside Sweet's home to force him to move from the neighborhood. Darrow referred to the trial as one his best argued, finishing with a legendary eight-hour impassioned closing argument which won acquittal for Dr. Sweet from the eleven-man jury, shocking the city. 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ossian Sweet (died 1960) was a black doctor notable for being acquitted when tried for murder in Detroit in 1925, thus setting a legal precedent which established for the first time that blacks in America had a right to self-defense. ... This article refers to the largest city of Michigan. ... The term MOB (all caps) may have several meanings, depending on context: Rice Universitys Marching Owl Band (The MOB) Man over board of a ship or boat Movable Object Block, an alternative term for sprite (computer science) In computer gaming, the acronym has given rise to the more general...

After the 1925 Scopes Trial, Clarence Darrow largely retired from practice, emerging only occasionally to undertake cases, such as the 1934 Massie Trial in Hawaii. Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan chat in court during the trial. ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Massie Affair was a famous murder trial that took place in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1932, which resulted in Grace Hubbard Fortescue (mother of Thalia Fortescue Massie), charged with manslaughter in the death of Joseph Kahahawai, literally getting away with murder due to racism and fear of mob violence. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Governor Linda Lingle (R) Official languages Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ...

A volume of Darrow's boyhood Reminiscences, entitled "Farmington," was published in Chicago in 1903 by McClurg and Company.

Darrow shared offices with Edgar Lee Masters, who achieved more fame for his poetry, in particular the Spoon River Anthology, than for his advocacy. Darrow also took Eugene V. Debs as a partner, following his release from prison. Edgar Lee Masters (August 23, 1868 - March 5, 1950) was an American poet, biographer and dramatist. ... The Spoon River Anthology (1916) by Edgar Lee Masters is an unusual collection of very short free-form poems that collectively describe the life of the fictional small town of Spoon River. ...

After his death, a full-length one man play was created, featuring Darrow's reminiscences about his career. Originated by Henry Fonda, many actors, including Leslie Nielsen, have since taken on the role of Darrow in this play. The Scopes Monkey trials were fictionalized in another play, entitled "Inherit the Wind." This was later turned into a film.

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Clarence Darrow

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External Links

• The Clarence Darrow Home Page
• leopoldandloeb.com