Harriet Pilpel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harriet Pilpel
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Harriet Fleischl
December 2, 1911 |
| Died | April 23, 1991 (aged 79) |
| Alma mater | Vassar College Columbia University Columbia Law School |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Spouse(s) | Robert C. Pilpel (1933–1987) Irvin B. Schwartz (1989–1991) |
| Children | Judith Ethel, Robert Harry |
Harriet Fleischl Pilpel (December 2, 1911 – April 23, 1991) was an American attorney and women's rights activist. She wrote and lectured extensively regarding the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and reproductive freedom. Pilpel served as general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. During her career, she participated in 27 cases that came before the United States Supreme Court.
Biography
Early life and education
Harriet Fleischl was born on December 2, 1911 to Julius and Ethel (née Loewy) Fleischl in the Bronx. She had two younger sisters, Juliette and Ruth.
She graduated from Vassar College in 1932. In 1933 she received her master's degree in public law and international law from the Columbia University. She received her J.D. in 1936 from Columbia Law School, where she graduated second in her class. She was hired by law firm Greenbaum, Wolf & Ernst following her graduation.
Legal career
During her career, Pilpel played a role in 27 cases that were heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. Her scholarly work was often cited by the Court and in legislative debate. Law professor Sylvia A. Law writes that Pilpel "was a brilliant legal tactician with a deep knowledge of the nuance of doctrine, but she was also acutely attuned to political opinion, organizational politics, the press, religious feeling, and the broad cultural forces that shape constitutional principles."
Pilpel was a protégé of Morris Ernst, who co-founded the ACLU.
Pilpel co-authored the 1952 book entitled Your Marriage and the Law with Theodora Zavin. She also represented publishers and writers in cases involving copyright law. Her clients included Betty Friedan, Mel Brooks, Billy Graham, Edna Ferber, Svetlana Alliluyeva, Jerome Kern, and Erich Maria Remarque. In 1965 she represented pediatrician Benjamin Spock in a case determining whether advertisements placed in The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care violated Dr. Spock's free speech rights.
Pilpel presented a paper on the legal rights of minors to the International Council of Women in 1973.
During the 1960s, Pilpel served on the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Beginning in 1965, Pilpel was an advisor to the United States Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor. From 1979 to 1986, she served as general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She served on the boards of the Guttmacher Institute фтв the ACLU. She was also co-chair of the National Coalition Against Censorship. In the 1950s and 1960s Pilpel also wrote a monthly column for Publishers Weekly entitled "But Can You Do That?" She appeared frequently on William F. Buckley Jr.'s television show Firing Line.
In 1982, she joined the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. That year, she donated her research files to Smith College's Sophia Smith Collection.
Honors
Pilpel was honored with a fellowship in NYU Law's Hays Program.
