Arthur Garfield Hays (December 12, 1881 – December 14, 1954) was an American lawyer and champion of civil liberties issues, best known as a co-founder and general counsel[1] of the American Civil Liberties Union and for participating in notable cases including the Sacco and Vanzetti trial. He was a member[2] of the Committee of 48 and a contributor to The New Republic.[2] In 1937, he headed an independent investigation of an incident in which 19 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in Ponce, Puerto Rico, when police fired at them. His commission concluded the police had behaved as a mob and committed a massacre.[3][4][5]
Arthur Garfield Hays was born on December 12, 1881, in Rochester, New York. Three months earlier, the death of James A. Garfield had installed Chester A. Arthur in the U.S. presidency. His father and mother, both of German Jewish descent, belonged to prosperous families in the clothing manufacturing industry. In 1902, he graduated from Columbia College, where he was one of the early members of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.[6] In 1905, he received an LLB from Columbia Law School and was admitted to the New York bar.[5]
Career
In 1905, Hays formed a law firm with two former classmates. He and his partners gained prominence during World War I representing interests of ethnic Germans in the US who were discriminated against because Germany was an enemy of the Allies during the war.[citation needed] In 1914-1915, he practiced law in London.[5]
Hays was active in civil liberties issues. In 1920 (or as early as 1912[5]), was hired as general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.[4] From this point, his career had two tracks: he vigorously defended the individual liberty of victims of discriminatory laws, and he also kept private work. He became a wealthy lawyer who represented the interests of power and fame (his more prominent clients ranged from Wall Street brokers and best-selling authors to notorious gamblers and the Dionne quintuplets).
Hays took part in numerous notable cases, including the Sweet segregation case in Detroit[7] as well as the Scopes trial (often called the "monkey trial") in 1925,[5] in which a school teacher in Tennessee was tried for teaching evolution;[8] the American Mercury censorship case (1926);[5] the Sacco and Vanzetti case, in which two Italian anarchists in Boston were convicted and executed in 1927 for a murder they denied committing;[5] and the Scottsboro case, in which eight black men from Alabama were convicted and sentenced to death in 1931 for allegedly attacking two white women. Hays attended the Reichstag trial in Berlin on behalf of Georgi Dimitrov, a Bulgarian Communist accused by the Nazis in 1933 of burning the Reichstag.[5][8]
In 1937, Hays was appointed to lead an independent investigation with a group (called the "Hays Commission") to study an incident in which 18 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in Ponce, Puerto Rico, when police opened fire on them. They had gathered for a parade for which the permits had been withdrawn at the last minute. His commission concluded the police had behaved as a mob and committed a massacre.[9]
Albany, New York - Monday, January 23, 1939: "The French film Remous was shown Friday [January 20] to five judges of the New York State Appellate Division in proceedings in the attempt by Arthur Mayer and Joseph Burstyn to get a license to screen it in New York State. The picture has twice been denied a license, first in August 1936, when it was rejected as being "indecent," "immoral," and tending to "corrupt morals." It was again rejected in November 1937. In March 1938, it was screened for the New York Board of Regents, which on April 14 disapproved application for a license. Hays, counsel for Mayer and Burstyn at yesterday's proceedings, ridiculed the objections of Irwin Esmond and the Regents to certain scenes, pointing out that the film was French and would appeal only to an educated audience. Counsel for the Regents based his plea on the film's theme of sex frustration, arguing that it would be unwise public policy to show it to all classes of people.[14]
I think he is the most dangerous man in the United States. I think he Senator McCarthy is more dangerous to freedom in the United States than all the Communists we have in this country... I think he's dangerous, because without evidence, he is smearing a lot of respected and highly decent people.[15]
In 1958, New York University established the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program at its School of Law.[18]
Princeton University houses the Arthur Garfield Hays Papers.[4]
Hays was a partner of Hays, St John & Buckley,[19] also known as Hays, St. John, Abramson & Heilbron, of which Osmond K. Fraenkel was later a member.[20]
Works
Hays wrote numerous books and articles. As a gifted writer and eloquent debater, he added his perspective to virtually every individual rights issue of his day. He wrote several books and essays about civil liberties issues. His autobiography, entitled City Lawyer: The Autobiography of a Law Practice (1942), provides a colorful account of his more noteworthy cases. His articles and book reviews demonstrate his wide-ranging knowledge of a nation and a world experiencing dramatic change in the way individual rights were perceived.[citation needed]
Let Freedom Ring (1928, rev. ed. 1937)
Trial by Prejudice (1937)
Democracy Works (1939)
City Lawyer: The Autobiography of a Law Practice (1942)
Defense Cases
Arthur Garfield Hays was renowned for his spirited defense of First Amendment freedoms, representing pivotal cases that shaped the American legal landscape. His involvement in the Scopes Monkey Trial and the defense of individuals like H. L. Mencken underscored his commitment to free speech and the press. Hays's legal acumen also shone in the Scottsboro Boys case, where he fought against racial injustice, highlighting his dedication to civil liberties beyond the courtroom. These cases not only illustrate Hays's legal prowess but also his unwavering dedication to protecting fundamental rights.[21]
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Larson, Edward John (1977). Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion. Basic Books. pp. 68–69.
