Henry W. Sawyer
Henry Washington Sawyer III (December 23, 1918[1] – July 31, 1999) was an American lawyer, civil rights activist and politician. Born in Philadelphia, he served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, afterwards returning to the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Sawyer worked as a corporate lawyer but is best known for his advocacy of civil liberties, especially in First Amendment cases. In Abington School District v. Schempp and Lemon v. Kurtzman, he successfully argued cases on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union before the Supreme Court of the United States that became the basis for all modern Establishment Clause jurisprudence. Sawyer also pursued civil rights causes in Philadelphia and in the South during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Originally a Republican, he was elected as a Democrat to serve a four-year term on the Philadelphia City Council, where he worked for civil service reform and to increase the amount of public art in the city.
Early life
Sawyer was born in
He graduated in 1940 and started at the
Legal career
After graduation, Sawyer joined the law firm of
As a lawyer, Sawyer focused on civil litigation in corporate law, at which he excelled.
Sawyer argued again in favor of someone accused of communist sympathies in Deutch v. United States.[20] Sawyer's client, Bernhard Deutch, was a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania who was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1954.[21] Deutch answered most of the committee's questions about his own former membership in the Communist Party as an undergraduate at Cornell University, but declined to answer questions about other members of the party, asserting that his "moral scruples" prevented him from doing so.[22] The House found Deutch in contempt, and the charge was upheld in federal district court.[22] The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, which Sawyer appealed to the Supreme Court. To his surprise, they took the case and reversed the conviction on the grounds that the government failed to prove "the pertinence of the questions".[20][23] In an article written after Sawyer's death, Judge Stewart Dalzell credited Sawyer's skillful argument in persuading the Court to overturn the conviction.[24]
Abington School District v. Schempp
In 1957, Pennsylvania law required that public school students read Bible verses to start the day. The Abington School District added another requirement that the students read the Lord's Prayer. Several Unitarians in Abington, a suburb of Philadelphia, objected and held a protest against it. One of them, Ellery Schempp, contacted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) about the issue.[25] The ACLU and Schempp's parents believed the school prayer law violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The ACLU's lawyers saw Sawyer, then Board chair and later general counsel of the ACLU's Philadelphia affiliate, as the best choice to argue it, given his skill as a litigator and his success in the Deutch case.[26] Sawyer agreed and filed suit in federal district court.[27]
As described by Judge Louis H. Pollak in a 1999 article, Sawyer's "theory of the case was that the prescribed Bible reading, whether or not followed by the Lord's Prayer, constituted both an establishment of religion and an infringement of the free exercise of religion in contravention of the First Amendment as made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment."[28] The trial began in 1958 before a three-judge panel.[29] The panel agreed in an opinion written by Judge John Biggs Jr.[30] After the trial, the state legislature changed the law to allow students to be excused from the Bible readings if they wished. In further hearings in 1962 the court, again in an opinion by Biggs, held that the law still violated the Constitution by allowing the state "to introduce a religious ceremony into the public schools of the Commonwealth."[31]
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal by the school district, and Sawyer again argued the case.[32] On June 17, 1963, the Court issued an 8–1 opinion upholding the district court ruling and striking down Pennsylvania's school prayer law. In the opinion by Justice Tom C. Clark, the Court enunciated what would become the heart of Establishment Clause jurisprudence: that "to withstand the strictures of the Establishment Clause, there must be a secular legislative purpose and a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion."[33] Pollak credited Sawyer's advocacy at the district court level with helping to win the case: "it is clear that a masterly litigator planted in trial court the seeds of the fruit that was to ripen on appeal."[34]
Lemon v. Kurtzman
Sawyer further shaped the church-state landscape a few years later in the case of Lemon v. Kurtzman. In 1968, Pennsylvania enacted the Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which allowed the state to reimburse non-public schools for education costs, provided that the costs were not incurred in teaching religion.[35] Although the statute specifically barred state funds from paying for "any subject matter expressing religious teaching, or the morals or forms of worship of any sect", civil rights activist Alton Lemon believed the law still allowed for the state to effectively fund religious schools, a violation of the Establishment Clause.[36] Sawyer took the case and brought suit in district court.[37]
Again arguing before a three-judge panel, Sawyer was initially unsuccessful. Judge Emanuel Mac Troutman, writing for the panel, explained that under the rules set forth in Schempp, the Act had a secular purpose and did not fund religion.[38] Sawyer appealed and the Supreme Court granted certiorari in 1970.[39] In an opinion handed down on June 28, 1971, the Court held for Sawyer's client and struck down the Pennsylvania law.[40] Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, writing for a seven-justice majority, held that "the cumulative impact of the entire relationship arising under the statutes in each State involves excessive entanglement between government and religion."[41]
The test handed down in Lemon remains the core of the process for determining whether a state action violates the Establishment Clause.[42] According to the ruling, a statute does not violate the Establishment Clause so long as it has a secular purpose, its principal effect does not advance or inhibit religion, and it does not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.[43] After Lemon, Sawyer was regarded as among the premier appellate litigators. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. said to Sawyer in 1988 that "few lawyers have equaled your advocacy."[44]
Local politics
Sawyer and his wife were both
While Sawyer was serving overseas, the reform coalition swept the Democrats into power in Philadelphia for the first time in 67 years.[8] When he returned to Philadelphia, Clark asked him to run for an at-large seat on City Council in 1955.[48] By the rules of the limited voting system for the at-large seats, each political party could nominate five candidates and voters could only choose five. The result was that the majority party could take only five of the seven seats, leaving two for the minority party. Sawyer was elected to one such seat and served a single four-year term.[7] In that position, he sponsored legislation to establish the city's One Percent for Fine Arts program, which required one percent of the cost of construction projects in Center City to be spent on public art.[7] He also worked for the creation of a Police Review Board. City Council did not pass that bill, but Mayor James Tate later created the board through an executive order.[49]
Sawyer found himself at odds with the Democratic organization on some occasions, most prominently on amendments to the city charter.
Civil rights advocacy
Beyond strictly legal and political concerns, Sawyer was also interested in the plight of black Americans, and became involved in the
Later life
Sawyer served on the boards of many civic organizations, including the
References
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ SSA 1999.
- ^ Tribune 1893.
- ^ Fox 2011, pp. 7–20; Coleman 1999, p. 11.
- ^ Inquirer 1918.
- ^ a b c d WMP 1976, p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Pray 1999.
- ^ a b Adams 1999, p. 2.
- ^ a b PVCA 2015.
- ^ Wister 1946.
- ^ WMP 1976, p. 5.
- ^ Binzen & Binzen 2014, p. 113.
- ^ a b Inquirer 1949.
- ^ WMP 1976, pp. 4–5.
- ^ a b c d Adams 1999, p. 4.
- ^ Dalzell 1999, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Shuford 2019.
- ^ Adams 1999, pp. 2–3.
- ^ United States v. Kuzma, 249 F.2d 619 (3rd Cir. 1959).
- ^ a b Deutch v. United States, 367 U.S. 456 (1961).
- ^ Dalzell 1999, p. 18.
- ^ a b Dalzell 1999, p. 19.
- ^ Dalzell 1999, p. 20.
- ^ Dalzell 1999, pp. 21–23.
- ^ Pollak 1999, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Solomon 2007, pp. 63–64.
- ^ Solomon 2007, p. 66.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 28.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 29.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 30.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 32.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 35.
- ^ Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963).
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 26.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 37.
- ^ Pollak 1999, pp. 37–38.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 38.
- ^ Pollak 1999, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 39.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 41.
- ^ Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971).
- ^ Kritzer & Richards 2003, p. 830.
- ^ Kritzer & Richards 2003, p. 829.
- ^ Pollak 1999, p. 44.
- ^ a b WMP 1976, p. 2.
- ^ a b WMP 1976, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Reichly 1959, p. 13.
- ^ WMP 1976, p. 6.
- ^ WMP 1976, p. 19.
- ^ WMP 1976, p. 8.
- ^ WMP 1976, p. 9.
- ^ Schraga 1956a.
- ^ Schraga 1956b.
- ^ Miller 1959.
- ^ Goulden 1965, p. 8.
- ^ a b c Adams 1999, pp. 3–4.
- ^ WMP 1976, pp. 20–21.
Sources
Books
- Binzen, Peter; Binzen, Jonathan (2014). Richardson Dilworth: Last of the Bare-Knuckled Aristocrats. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Camino Books. ISBN 978-1-933822-86-0.
- Fox, Karen (2011). The Chalfonte: The Heroes, Heartaches, Legends, Love Affairs and Unforgettable Characters Behind the Hotel that Became an American Treasure. Cape May, New Jersey: Exit Zero Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9830768-3-4.
- Reichly, James (1959). The Art of Government: Reform and Organization Politics in Philadelphia. A report to the Fund for the Republic. New York, New York: OCLC 994205.
- Solomon, Stephen D. (2007). Ellery's Protest: How One Young Man Defied Tradition and Sparked the Battle over School Prayer. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-10837-4.
Journals
- JSTOR 3312855.
- JSTOR 3312856.
- JSTOR 3312857.
- Kritzer, Herbert M.; Richards, Mark J. (December 2003). "Jurisprudential Regimes and Supreme Court Decisionmaking: The Lemon Regime and Establishment Clause Cases". Law & Society Review. 37 (4): 827–840. JSTOR 1555154.
- JSTOR 3312858.
Newspapers
- "Colonel Henry W. Sawyer". New York Tribune. October 17, 1893. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Died". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 17, 1918. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- Wister, Jane (December 10, 1946). "Dinner Dance To Honor Grace Scull and Fiance". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- "O'Malley Acquitted On First Ballot After Only 2 Hours Of Deliberation". The Philadelphia Inquirer. February 3, 1949. pp. 1, 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- Schraga, Saul (February 24, 1956a). "Council Puts Ripper Up In Primary". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1, 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- Schraga, Saul (April 25, 1956b). "Voters Beat Proposal To Rip Up Charter". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1, 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- Miller, Joseph H. (February 7, 1959). "Dilworth Likely To Get Green's Backing Again". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- Goulden, Joseph C. (November 3, 1965). "Specter Wins By 38,000, Hemphill Victor". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1, 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- Pray, Rusty (August 4, 1999). "Henry W. Sawyer, 80, civil rights crusader". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. B-4 – via Newspapers.com.
Websites
- "Henry Sawyer Oral History". Walter Massey Phillips Oral Histories. Temple University Special Collections Oral Histories Repository. October 19, 1976. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- "Pennsylvania, Veteran Compensation Application Files, WWII, 1950–1966". Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
- "Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007". Ancestry.com. Social Security Administration. 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- Shuford, Reggie (2019). "A Relatively Brief History of the ACLU of Pennsylvania". ACLU Pennsylvania. Retrieved September 16, 2021.