Gertz, Elmer, 1906-2000

Elmer Gertz (September 14, 1906 - April 27, 2000) was an American lawyer, writer and civil rights activist. During his lengthy legal career he won some high-profile cases, most notably parole for notorious killer Nathan Leopold and the obscenity trial of Henry Miller's novel Tropic of Cancer (novel). In addition to accounts of his cases and career, he also reviewed books and edited a collection of works by Frank Harris, whom he represented as literary agent.

From the description of Elmer Gertz collection, 1962-1991. (Southern Illinois University). WorldCat record id: 263033438

Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. (November 19, 1904 – August 29, 1971) and Richard Albert Loeb (June 11, 1905 – January 28, 1936), often referred to as "Leopold and Loeb", were privileged and wealthy teenage University of Chicago students who murdered 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks in 1924 in a desire to commit the “perfect crime,” and were sentenced to prison for 99 years plus a life term. Leopold was paroled in 1958 and spent the rest of his life in Puerto Rico, dying of heart failure in 1971.

From the guide to the Leopold and Loeb Collection, 1894-1990, 1952-1971, (Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections)

Lawyer, author, and manuscript collector. Died 2000.

From the description of Elmer Gertz papers, 1789-1997 (bulk 1926-1988). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70982328

Biographical Note

• 1906, Sept. 14: Born, Chicago, Ill.
• 1928: Ph.B., University of Chicago,Chicago, Ill.
• 1930: J.D., University of Chicago,Chicago, Ill.
• 1930 - 1941 : Associate in law firm of McInerney, Epstein & Arvey,Chicago, Ill.
• 1931: Married Ceretta Samuels (died 1958) Published with A. I. TobinFrank Harris: A Study in Black and White (Chicago: Madelaine Mendelsohn. 293 pp.)
• 1934: Director of public relations, Illinois Police Association
• 1941 - 1973 : Attorney in private practice, Chicago, Ill.
• 1944: Member, Executive Committee, Illinois Committee for Equal Job Opportunity Member, national and Chicago Advisory Board Commission on Law and Social Action, American Jewish Congress
• 1945 - 1947 : Chairman, Veterans Housing Committee,Chicago, Ill.
• 1946 - 1948 : Legislative chairman of Mayor's Emergency Housing Committee,Chicago, Ill.
• 1949 - 1951 : Member, Mayor's Housing Action Committee,Chicago, Ill.
• 1959: Married Mamie L. Friedman
• 1959 - 1963 : President, Greater Chicago Council of the American Jewish Congress
• 1965: Published A Handful of Clients (Chicago: Follett Publishing Co. 379 pp.)
• 1965 - 1969 : President, Adult Education Council of Greater Chicago
• 1968: Member, Chicago Citizens Commission to Study the Disorders of Convention Week Published Moment of Madness: The People vs. Jack Ruby (Chicago: Follett Publishing Co. 564 pp.)
• 1969 - 1970 : Delegate to the sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention; chairman of its Committee on Bill of Rights
• 1970 - circa 1997 : Professor, John Marshall Law School,Chicago, Ill.
• 1972: Israel's State of Israel Awarded the state of Israel's Prime Minister's Medal Published For the First Hours of Tomorrow: The New Illinois Bill of Rights (Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 178 pp.
• 1973: Became partner in law firm of Gertz and Giampietro,Chicago, Ill.
• 1974: Successful plaintiff in landmark libel suit Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. Published To Life: The Story of a Chicago Lawyer (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. 308 pp.)
• 1975: Editor, The Short Stories of Frank Harris: A Selection (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. 299 pp.)
• 1978: Editor, Henry Miller: Years of Trial and Triumph, 1962-1964: The Correspondence of Henry Miller and Elmer Gertz (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. 345 pp.)
• 1978 - 1980 : First Amendment Lawyers Association; president, 1978-1979; chairman, 1979-1980
• 1979: Published Odyssey of a Barbarian: The Biography of George Sylvester Viereck (Buffalo: Prometheus Books. 305 pp.)
• 1980: Published Charter for a New Age: An Inside View of the Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention (Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 378 pp.)
• 1983: Published A Guide to Estate Planning (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. 179 pp.)
• 1984: Published Quest for a Constitution: A Man Who Wouldn't Quit: A Political Biography of Samuel Witwer of Illinois (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America. 231 pp.)
• 1992: Published Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.: The Story of a Landmark Libel Case (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. 295 pp.)
• 2000, Apr. 27: Died, Chicago, Ill.

From the guide to the Elmer Gertz Papers, 1789-1997, (bulk 1926-1988), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)