Nathan Lewin
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Nathan Lewin | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation | Attorney |
Years active | 1960 - present |
Known for | Supreme Court cases |
Spouse | Rikki Gordon |
Children | Alyza Doba, Na'ama Batya |
Website | https://lewinlewin.com/about/attorneys/ |
Nathan Lewin (born January 31, 1936) is an American attorney who has argued many cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Early life and education
Lewin was born in Łódź, Poland. His grandfather, the chief rabbi of Rzeszow, was elected to and served twice as a member of the Polish Legislature (“Sejm”). Lewin’s father, who was elected twice to the Lodz City Council, was later a professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School and a prolific author in Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew, and English.
Lewin's family fled Poland before the Nazi invasion in 1939. He arrived in the United States from Japan in 1941.[1] Lewin grew up in New York City. He is a Sugihara survivor.[2] By the time he was five, he spoke six languages. His mother's mother was his only grandparent to survive the Holocaust.[1]
Lewin received his
Career
Lewin was law clerk to Chief Judge
Lewin also was a part of the prosecution team that won a conviction of James R. Hoffa and represented the government in briefing and oral argument of the Hoffa appeals in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.[5] Hoffa referred to Lewin as "Instant Law" because of his expertise in finding relevant caselaw in short order.[1] He also was on the federal prosecution team of the murderers of the three civil-rights workers in Mississippi.
Upon leaving government service, Lewin was a founding partner of Miller Cassidy Larroca & Lewin, later founding Lewin & Lewin LLP, one of the United States' foremost litigation 'boutiques' for more than 30 years.
Lewin is admitted to practice in the
Lewin currently practices law together with his daughter Alyza D. Lewin, at Lewin & Lewin LLP which specializes in white-collar criminal defense and in federal appellate litigation, and is located in Washington, D.C.[6]
Lewin has practiced law in the
Lewin was recognized by the DC Legal Times as one of "Washington's Greatest Lawyers of the Past 30 Years" and was ranked Number 2 of Washington’s Best Lawyers by the Washingtonian. He has been voted one of America’s Best Lawyers for 30 years, and was included in the 2019 edition of that volume in four distinct practice categories, including Appellate Litigation, Defense of White-Collar Crime, and First Amendment Litigation. In 2020, U.S. News & World Report announced Lewin & Lewin LLP was among the Best Law Firms.[7]
Cases
First Amendment Cases
Lewin has been a champion in advocating for
He was the attorney for the Satmar
Lewin drafted a number of legislative provisions that preserve the constitutional right to freedom of religion including: the provision of the federal Civil Rights Act enacted in 1972 that protects religious observances of private employees, the provision of federal law that enables federal employees to observe religious holidays without financial penalty, the provision of New York's Domestic Relations Law that conditions the issuance of a civil divorce on removal of barriers to remarriage such as the delivery or acceptance of a
Other Cases
Between 2002 and 2015, Lewin & Lewin litigated pro bono publico on behalf of Menachem Zivotofsky, who was born in Jerusalem and claimed the statutory right to have his U.S. passport designate his place of birth as "Israel."[11] The case was argued twice in the Supreme Court of the United States (once by Lewin and once by Alyza Lewin) and three times in the U.S. Court of Appeals by Lewin (see Zivotofsky v. Clinton and Zivotofsky v. Kerry). After the Supreme Court held that the President had the exclusive constitutional authority to recognize a city as being within the borders of a foreign sovereign, U.S. President Donald Trump in December 2017 recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In October 2020, the State Department changed its passport policy and presented Menachem Zivotofsky with the first U.S. passport formally listing Israel as place of birth for a U.S. citizen born in Jerusalem.[12]
Lewin conceded he submitted a picture of Baruch Herzfeld dancing with a non-Jewish woman to an Orthodox rabbinical court as part of his case against him, but insists it was "a minor detail of the case".[13]
In 2014 and 2015, Lewin represented Binyamin Stimler, a member of the New York divorce coercion gang whose purpose was the kidnap and torture of Jewish men in order to force them into granting religious divorces to their wives.[14] Stimler was sentenced to 39 months in prison for his role in the plot.[15]
Lewin is currently representing
Academia
Lewin has also taught at many of the nation’s top law schools. In the 1970’s he was an Adjunct Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown Law School .In 1974-1975 he was Visiting Professor at the Harvard Law School, teaching Advanced Constitutional Law (First Amendment Litigation) and the first formal course ever given in a national law school on the subject of “Defense of White-Collar Crime.” He also taught a seminar on Appellate Advocacy. In 1994, Lewin gave a semester-long seminar on “Religious Minorities in Supreme Court Litigation” at the University of Chicago Law School and taught that seminar at Columbia Law School from 1996 to 2018. He also taught a course in Jewish Civil Law at George Washington University Law School for several years.
Non-profit work
Between 1982 and 1984, he served as President of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington, and for more than 30 years, he served as the national vice president of the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA).[17] Lewin was president of the American Section of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists from 1992 to 1997. He is currently Honorary President of its successor, the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.[18]
Notable clients
Lewin's individual clients have included the
Lewin represented Sholom Rubashkin[19] in the appeal from his conviction and sentencing to 27 years in jail.[20] He also served as the Justice Department's special counsel in the deportation case against Valerian Trifa who had led the Iron Guard in Nazi-occupied Romania.[citation needed]
Personal life
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (March 2023) |
Lewin is married to Rikki Gordon (a photojournalist), with whom he has two daughters, Alyza Doba (an attorney who is also his law partner) and Na’ama Batya (a multimedia artist and photojournalism professor). Lewin has six grandchildren.
Publications by Lewin
Lewin has written numerous articles on American jurisprudence, politics, and religion. He was an author and Contributing Editor to
In an essay in Sh'ma, Lewin said that suicide bombers were ready to give up their lives to murder crowds of people to whom they were not related and did not know. For deterrence to be effective, the law should notify potential bombers that their adult family members will be treated as if they were in the crowd of victims. If they knew or should have known of the suicide bomber's plans and failed to dissuade the bomber, they would be treated in legal proceedings as criminals subject to the death penalty.[21]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Interview with Nathan Lewin". Interviews with Max Raskin. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ How my grandmother’s chutzpah helped Sugihara rescue thousands of Jews Alyza D. Lewin (April 25, 2016) Jewish Telegraphic Agency
- ^ "Being Jewish at Harvard in the 50's". www.torahcafe.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ devcontent (2019-01-14). "Court Jew". Mishpacha Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ "U.S. v. Hoffa: 1964 | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ "Lewin & Lewin LLP". Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ "Lewin & Lewin, LLP - Firm Overview". bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ "FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions". Findlaw. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- ^ "Nathan Lewin | Institute for the Study of Human Rights". www.humanrightscolumbia.org. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ "Appeal Will Be Filed Against a Ruling Rejecting Kosher Food for Jdl Members in Prison". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1975-05-07. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- ^ Kampeas, Ron. "Menachem Zivotofsky, whose name graces two Supreme Court cases, finally gets a passport listing 'Jerusalem, Israel'". St. Louis Jewish Light. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- ^ "U.S. to allow 'Israel' to be listed on passports of Americans born in Jerusalem". POLITICO. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ "The Great Orthodox Merengue Scandal". Tablet Magazine. 2010-04-14.
- ^ Shortell, David (April 22, 2015) "Orthodox Rabbis Convicted of Conspiracy in New Jersey Kidnap-Divorce Plot", CNN
- ^ (December 16, 2015) "Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison For Conspiring To Kidnap Jewish Husbands, Force Them To Consent To Religious Divorces", United States Department of Justice
- ^ "Docket: U.S. District Court, District of Columbia - April 19, 2021".
- ^ "First Amendment Advocate Nathan Lewin to Receive JCPA Albert D. Chernin Award". JCPA. 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- ^ "Mr. Nathan Lewin | Crime and Consequence". Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- ^ ralph (10 December 2009). "Nathan Lewin To Lead Rubashkin Legal Defense Team".
- ^ "Rubashkin sentenced to 27 years". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2010-06-22.
- ^ "Detering Suicide Killers". Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. May 1, 2002.