Hoffman worked in the private practice of law in Chicago with the law firm of White and Hawxhurst from 1915 to 1936 and with the law firm of Markheim, Hoffman, Hungerford & Sollo from 1944 to 1947. He was general counsel for the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company from 1936 to 1944. He was a Judge of the Superior Court of Cook County, Illinois from 1947 to 1953.[6][7]
Over the course of his career as a judge, Hoffman presided over numerous important cases, including a tax evasion case against Tony Accardo, an obscenity case against Lenny Bruce, a deportation suit against alleged Nazi war criminal Frank Walus, and several desegregation suits.[6] Both the obscenity conviction and the conviction of Frank Walus were overturned, with the courts citing Hoffman’s overzealous nature as the reason in both cases.
Chicago Seven
Hoffman's most notable case was the trial from April 9, 1969, to February 20, 1970, that involved charges against protesters arrested during the 1968 Democratic Convention,[8] originally known as the "Chicago Eight". During the course of the Chicago Eight trial, Hoffman refused to allow the defendant Bobby Seale to represent himself after Seale's original attorney became ill. This prompted conflicts with Seale that led to Hoffman ordering Seale to be gagged and shackled in the courtroom and eventually jailed for contempt. Finally, Hoffman removed Seale from the trial, leaving the case with only seven defendants, at which point the trial became known as the "Chicago Seven" trial. Because of this, and his non-objective attitude,[9][10] Hoffman became the favorite courtroom target of the Chicago Seven defendants, who often openly insulted the judge.[11]Abbie Hoffman (no direct relation) told Judge Hoffman "you are a shande far dee Goyim" ["a disgrace (to the Jewish community) in front of the Gentiles" in Yiddish] and that "[y]ou would have served Hitler better." He later added that "your idea of justice is the only obscenity in the room."[11] Both Rennie Davis and Jerry Rubin told the judge, "This court is bullshit."
All seven were found by a jury to be not guilty of conspiracy, but five of the defendants were found guilty of inciting a riot, and Hoffman sentenced each of the five to the maximum penalty: five years in prison and a fine of $5,000, plus court costs. In addition, Hoffman sentenced all eight defendants and both of their lawyers (William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass) to lengthy jail terms for contempt of court.[9]
On May 11, 1972, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated all of the contempt convictions, and on November 21, 1972, reversed all of the substantive convictions on a number of grounds. Among other things, the appeals court found that Hoffman had not sufficiently measured the biases of the jury and that he had exhibited a "deprecatory and often antagonistic attitude toward the defense."[9]
Later life
In 1974, author Joseph Goulden wrote a book called The Benchwarmers, which was an exposé of the powerful and often private world of federal judges. Goulden conducted an in-depth investigation of Hoffman and pointed out that he had an abrasive reputation among Chicago lawyers even before his most famous case. Goulden mentioned a survey that had been done among Chicago attorneys who had recently appeared before the judge and 78% had an unfavorable opinion of him. They responded overwhelmingly negatively to the questions, "Does he display an impartial attitude?" and "Is he courteous to both the prosecution and defense?"[12]
In 1982, the Executive Committee of the United States District Court ordered that Hoffman not be assigned any new cases because of his age and complaints that he was acting erratically and abusively from the bench. However, he continued to preside over his ongoing cases until his death from natural causes the next year, a week before his 88th birthday.[6]
