Harold Medina

Infobox Judge
name = Harold R Medina


imagesize =
caption = Judge Harold Medina on the October 24, 1949 cover of "Time Magazine"
office = Judge of United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
termstart = 1953
termend = 1980
nominator = Harry S. Truman
appointer =
predecessor = Learned Hand
successor = Henry Friendly
office2 = Judge of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
termstart2 = 1947
termend2 = 1953
nominator2 = Harry S. Truman
appointer2 =
predecessor2 = Samuel Mandelbaum
successor2 =
birthdate = birth date|1888|2|16|mf=y
birthplace = Brooklyn, New York
deathdate = death date and age|1990|3|14|1888|2|16|mf=y
deathplace = Westwood, New Jersey
spouse =

Harold Raymond Medina, Sr. (February 16, 1888 – March 14, 1990) was a lawyer, teacher and judge who is most noted for hearing landmark cases of conspiracy and treason.

Medina died in 1990 at the age of 102.

Early life

Medina was born in Brooklyn, New York. [http://webscript.princeton.edu/~paw/memorials/memdisplay.php?id=6663 PAW | Harold R. Medina '09 ] ] As a young man, he attended and graduated from Princeton University in 1909 with an A.B. degree. He received a L.L.B. degree from Columbia Law School at the head of his class in 1912. He married his wife Ethel in 1911.

Judicial career

In 1947 President Harry S. Truman nominated Medina to serve as a federal judge in the Southern District of New York. In 1949, he presided over the trial of 11 leaders of the U.S. Communist Party charged with advocating the violent overthrow of the government. The jury found all the defendants guilty and Medina sentenced them to prison. [ [http://www.constitutioncenter.org/timeline/html/cw09_12190.html National Constitution Center - Centuries of Citizenship - Harold Raymond Medina presides over trial of eleven U.S. Communist Party leaders ] ] He also gave prison sentences to five of the defense attorneys on charges of contempt of court; among them was George William Crockett Jr., who later became a Member of Congress.

Medina succeeded Learned Hand on the United States Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit from 1953 until 1980, when (at age 92) he was the oldest judge still serving on the federal bench. He achieved senior status in 1958.He became a prominent Manhattan attorney between the two World Wars by virtue of his teaching, scholarship and private practice. He was also the founder of a popular bar examination course.

Other honors

Medina was featured on the cover of the October 24, 1949, edition of "Time Magazine". [http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19491024,00.html]

In 1957, Medina received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Elizabethtown College located in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. (Source: 1957 Conestogan Yearbook, Elizabethtown College)

J. Woodford Howard, Jr., professor of political science emeritus at The Johns Hopkins University, is currently completing an authorized biography of Medina.

References

External links

* [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=1609 Profile] from the Federal Judicial Center