William M. Kunstler: The Most Hated Lawyer in America

David J. Langum

Published by New York University Press 1999

William M. Kunstler

The Most Hated Lawyer in America

David J. Langum

https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814738016.001.0001

Overview
Contents

About this book

The true story of the defender of the Chicago 7

Alternately vilified as a publicity-seeking egoist and lauded as a rambunctious, fearless advocate, William Kunstler consistently embodied both of these qualities.

Kunstler's unrelenting, radical critique of American racism and the legal system took shape as a result of his efforts to enlist the federal judicial system to support the civil rights movement. In the late 60s and the 70s, Kunstler, refocusing his attention on the Black Power and anti-war movement, garnered considerable public attention as defender of the Chicago Seven, and went on to represent such controversial figures as Leonard Peltier, the American Indian Movement leader charged with killing an FBI agent, and Jack Ruby, the killer of Lee Harvey Oswald. Later, Kunstler briefly represented Colin Ferguson, the Long Island Railroad mass murderer, outraging fans and detractors alike with his invocation of the infamous "black rage" defense.

Defending those most loathed by mainstream, conventional America, William Kunstler delighted in taking on fiercely political cases, usually representing society's outcasts and pariahs free of charge and often achieving remarkable courtroom results in seemingly hopeless cases. Though Kunstler never gave up his revolutionary underpinnings, he gradually turned from defending clients whose political beliefs he personally supported to taking on apolitical clients, falling back on the broad rationale that his was a general struggle against an oppressive government.

What ideological and tactical motives explain Kunstler's obsessive craving for media attention, his rhetorical flourishes in the courtroom and his instinctive and relentless drive for action? How did Kunstler migrate from a comfortable middle-class background to a life as a staunchly rebellious figure in social and legal history? David Langum's portrait gives depth to the already notorious breadth of William Kunstler's life.

Author / Editor information

Langum David J. :

Author of several books and recipient of the J.S. Holliday award, the James Willard Hurst Prize and the Caroline Bancroft Prize, David J. Langum is currently a Professor of Law at Samford University.

Reviews

Probative and insightful . . . Langum goes beyond the conventional reading of Kunstler to uncover a man who often embellished his experiences to get at deeper truths about American society.

Langum paints a large, sympathetic portrait of a keen and angry man.

A vivid biography.

A thoughtfully enthusiastic critique, Langum outlines the life, loves, and legal struggles of the radical lawyer who defended such diverse clients as the Chicago Seven, the Attica prison insurgents, Jack Ruby, and John Gotti.

Langum opens a fascinating window on four decades of legal firestorms and the lawyer who stood close to the flames.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1 Introductory Images Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2 Family and Early Years Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
3 Getting Started in the Law Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
4 The Shock of the South Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
5 Black Power Advocate Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
6 Circus in Chicago Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
7 Directions outside the Courtroom Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
8 Radical Lawyers in Modern America Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
9 Representing the Attica Prisoners Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
10 Private Life and Practice in the 1970s Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	216
11 Indian Defenses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
12 The 1980s and a More Diverse Practice Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	259
13 The Scapegoat and the Killer Cops Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	286
14 A Return to the Limelight Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	309
15 Kunstler in His Final Years Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	333
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	359
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	443
About the Author Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	452

Language: English
Publisher: New York University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;

eBook

Published: September 1, 1999
ISBN: 9780814738016