Abner Mikva
Abner Mikva | |
---|---|
White House Counsel | |
In office October 1, 1994 – November 1, 1995 | |
President | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Lloyd Cutler |
Succeeded by | Jack Quinn |
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
In office January 19, 1991 – September 19, 1994 | |
Preceded by | Patricia Wald |
Succeeded by | Harry T. Edwards |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
In office September 26, 1979 – September 19, 1994 | |
Appointed by | Jimmy Carter |
Preceded by | Seat established |
Succeeded by | Merrick Garland |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 10th district | |
In office January 3, 1975 – September 26, 1979 | |
Preceded by | Samuel H. Young |
Succeeded by | John Porter |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 2nd district | |
In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1973 | |
Preceded by | Barratt O'Hara |
Succeeded by | Morgan F. Murphy |
Chair of the Illinois Human Rights Commission | |
In office 2006–2009 | |
Preceded by | J. B. Pritzker |
Personal details | |
Born | Abner Joseph Mikva January 21, 1926 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Died | July 4, 2016 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 90)
Political party | Democratic |
Education | University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Washington University (BA) University of Chicago (JD) |
Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom (2014) |
Abner Joseph Mikva (January 21, 1926 – July 4, 2016) was an American politician, federal judge, and legal scholar. He was a member of the Democratic Party. After serving in the Illinois House of Representatives, Mikva ran for congress in 1966 but lost the primary to incumbent congressman Barrett O'Hara. In 1968, Mikva defeated O'Hara. Mikva served in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 2nd congressional district (1969–1973) and 10th congressional district (1975–1979). He was appointed as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Jimmy Carter, serving from 1979 to 1994. He served as the White House Counsel from 1994 to 1995 during Bill Clinton's presidency. He was one of the few people in modern times to serve in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Federal government.
In his later career, Mikva taught at the University of Chicago Law School, the Georgetown University Law Center and the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He mentored future President of the United States Barack Obama and future United States Attorney General Merrick Garland (who also succeeded him on the D.C. Circuit) during their early years in law. In 2014, Obama honored Mikva with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Early life and family
Mikva was born in
The couple moved to
Political career
After graduation, Mikva clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sherman Minton.[6] He also returned to Chicago and began practicing law, at a firm which became Goldberg, Devoe, Shadur & Mikva after he made partner. The firm handles labor, real estate, commercial and civil rights cases, as well as some criminal defense.[2]
Nonetheless, his early interest in Chicago clearly was politics:
One of the stories that is told about my start in politics is that on the way home from law school one night in 1948, I stopped by the ward headquarters in the ward where I lived. There was a street-front, and the name Timothy O'Sullivan, Ward Committeeman, was painted on the front window. I walked in and I said, "I'd like to volunteer to work for [Adlai] Stevenson and [Paul] Douglas." This quintessential Chicago ward committeeman took the cigar out of his mouth and glared at me and said, "Who sent you?" I said, "Nobody sent me." He put the cigar back in his mouth and he said, "We don't want nobody that nobody sent." This was the beginning of my political career in Chicago.[7]
He spent ten years, 1956 to 1966, in the
He first represented Illinois's
After he was defeated by
Federal judicial service
Mikva was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on May 29, 1979, to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 92 Stat. 1629.[15] Despite opposition from anti-gun control interests that spent over $1 million to oppose his nomination, Mikva was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 25, 1979 and received his commission on September 26, 1979.[16][17] He served as Chief Judge from 1991 to 1994.[16] His service terminated on September 19, 1994, due to retirement, after which he became White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton.[16][18]
During his 15 years as judge, including four as Chief Judge, Mikva used his experience in the legislative branch as well as with the conservative Justice Minton to craft his opinions. Mikva's most controversial decisions struck down the Pentagon ban against gays serving in the U.S. military (overturned on appeal by the circuit sitting en banc, but the ban was ultimately overturned by Executive Order), and in 1982 upholding regulation of air bags in automobiles.[2]
In 1992, while serving as Chief Judge on the D.C. Circuit, Mikva appeared in the Kevin Kline comedy Dave as "Supreme Court Justice Abner J. Mikva," in a scene in which he administers the presidential oath of office to the Vice President (played by Ben Kingsley).[19]
Post-judicial career
Mikva taught law at Northwestern University and was White House Counsel under President Bill Clinton from 1994 to 1995, finding himself the oldest member of the White House team, and eventually resigning due to exhaustion.[2] He then returned to the University of Chicago Law School, serving as the Schwarz Lecturer and the senior director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic. While at the University, Mikva came to better know future president Barack Obama, whom he mentored and supported politically. Obama awarded Mikva the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 24, 2014.[20] Mikva offered Obama a law clerk position in his judicial office after Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, but Obama declined.[citation needed] Future Obama appointee and United States Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan did serve as one of Mikva's law clerks and was then a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.[21] Mikva also encouraged Obama to listen to preachers to understand public speaking, "listen[ing] to patterns of speech, how to take people up the ladders. It's almost a Baptist tradition to make someone faint, and, by God, he's doing it now."[21]
Other pursuits
Mikva served as a mediator through
Mikva Challenge
Mikva and his wife Zoe started the Mikva Challenge in 1997.
Death
Mikva died under hospice care in Chicago, Illinois, from complications of bladder cancer on July 4, 2016, aged 90.[29] He was also suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the time of his death.[30]
Legacy and awards
Mikva's congressional and judicial papers are archived at the
See also
- List of Jewish American jurists
- List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 3)
References
- ISBN 9780810877382– via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Loo, Jamie (April 26, 2015). "Abner Mikva: A public service triple crown". Chicago Law Bulletin. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Lewis, Neil A. (July 5, 2016). "Abner Mikva, Lawmaker, Judge and Mentor to Obama, Dies at 90". The New York Times.
- ^ "Mary L. Mikva". www.illinoiscourts.gov.
- ^ a b c Memmott, A. James (October 6, 2010). "Abner Mikva's many connections to the top". Muckety.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Trever Jensen (July 5, 2016). "Chicagoan Abner Mikva — lawmaker, judge, presidential adviser — dies at 90". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ Abner Mikva Interview: Conversations with History Archived June 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine; Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley, April 12, 1999.
- ^ "Abner Mikva". University of Chicago Law School. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
He started his political career in 1956 in the Illinois House of Representatives, where he served five consecutive terms.
- ^ Gillion, Daniel Q. (September 2020). "Protest works". The Atlantic. p. 24.
- ^ "Hr1169 95th General Assembly".
- ^ a b c Tim Moran (July 5, 2016). "Abner Mikva, Former U.S. Representative, Dies". Patch.com. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ a b "Power to the people, back for another try". Chicago Tribune. April 30, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ISBN 9781608193844. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ "ABNER MIKVA DEAD AT 90; a long post worth every word". DuPage Democrats.com. July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Abner J. Mikva". Illinois.edu. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ a b c Abner Mikva at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ "Dissenting Opinion", University of Chicago Magazine, August 1996.
- ^ Andrew V. Pistano (July 5, 2016). "Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Abner J. Mikva dead at 90". UPI.com. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ A. James Memmot (July 5, 2016). "Abner Mikva's many connections to the top". Muckety.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- National Archives.
- ^ a b Powell, Michael (June 4, 2008). "Barack Obama: Calm in the Swirl of History". The New York Times.
- ^ "The Constitutional Amendments Committee". Constitution Project.org. August 16, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ Brown, Mark (November 29, 2004). "Ukraine election shenanigans an eye-opener for Mikva". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ "Gov. Blagojevich appoints Judge Abner Mikva Chairman of the Illinois Human Rights Commission". July 26, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ "History". April 12, 2019.
- ^ "About Us". April 12, 2019.
- ^ a b "2020 Annual Report // Youth Reshaping Democracy" (PDF). mikvachallenge.org. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ "Mikva Challenge Mission & Vision - Mikva Challenge". Archived from the original on November 8, 2014.
- ^ Emily Langer (July 5, 2016). "Abner Mikva, liberal titan of law and politics, dies at 90". The Washington Post.com. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ Neil A. Lewis (July 5, 2016). "Abner Mikva, Lawmaker, Judge and Mentor to Obama, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ Finding aid, Federal Judicial Center, Adam Mikva Archived January 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, FJC.gov
- ^ Neil Steinberg (July 5, 2016). "Abner Mikva, the original 'nobody nobody sent,' dead at 90". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ Bookwalter, Genevieve (March 13, 2017). "Evanston post office renamed in honor of Abner Mikva". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
External links
- Mikva Challenge
- United States Congress. "Abner Mikva (id: M000703)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-02-26
- Abner Joseph Mikva at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Schwartz, John (June 25, 2010). "In a Mentor, Kagan's Critics See Liberal Agenda". The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2016.