Irving Younger (born: Irving Yoskowitz) (November 30, 1932 – March 13, 1988) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer, law professor, judge, and writer. He is well known among lawyers and law students for his exciting talks on effective trial advocacy and legal history.
Younger was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
and attended high school at the
Bronx High School of ScienceThe Bronx High School of Science is a specialized New York City public high school. Founded in 1938, it is located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx. Admission is by an exam open to all grade-eligible students in New York City, reportedly taken by more than 20,000 students annually...
, followed by undergraduate studies at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
, from which he graduated in 1953.
Irving Younger (born: Irving Yoskowitz) (November 30, 1932 – March 13, 1988) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer, law professor, judge, and writer. He is well known among lawyers and law students for his exciting talks on effective trial advocacy and legal history.
Biography
Younger was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
and attended high school at the
Bronx High School of ScienceThe Bronx High School of Science is a specialized New York City public high school. Founded in 1938, it is located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx. Admission is by an exam open to all grade-eligible students in New York City, reportedly taken by more than 20,000 students annually...
, followed by undergraduate studies at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
, from which he graduated in 1953. After serving for two years in the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
, Younger obtained his
Juris DoctorJuris Doctor is a first professional degree.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century as a degree similar to the old European doctor of law degree...
degree from New York University Law School in 1958. He was married to Judith T. Younger (née Weintraub), who is also a lawyer and law professor.
After graduating from law school, Younger worked briefly as a litigation associate at the New York law firm of
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & GarrisonPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. The firm has well-noted expertise in its corporate, personal representation, entertainment law and litigation practices, having long been a leader among national litigation firms...
, before becoming an Assistant
United States AttorneyUnited States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
in the Southern District of New York. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Younger handled criminal trials and appeals. Younger's most famous case as a prosecutor was the trial of singer
Pete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early '50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's...
for
contempt of CongressContempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. While historically the bribery of a Senator or Representative was considered "contempt of Congress," in modern times a person must refuse to comply with a subpoena issued by a...
after Seeger refused to answer questions about alleged
Communist PartyA political party described as a communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government. The name originates from the 1848 tract Manifesto of the Communist Party by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels...
membership and activities. Seeger was convicted and sentenced to prison, but the
Court of AppealsThe United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
reversed the conviction on a technicality; Younger reports in his autobiography,
Some of My Life, that he was not upset when that occurred. After several years in the U.S. Attorney's office, Younger opened a practice as a private defense lawyer, partnering with his wife and handling a wide variety of cases.
In 1968, Younger was unexpectedly elected as a judge of the
New York City Civil CourtThe New York City Civil Court is a court hearing civil cases within New York City. The court's jurisdiction includes civil actions for damages arising within the five counties of New York City involving claims of up to $25,000, as well as residential and commercial landlord-tenant disputes. The...
, a lower-level trial court, from a district in Manhattan, running on the
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
, Liberal, and Conservative party lines. As a judge, Younger presided over both civil and criminal cases and authored more than a dozen published opinions.
In 1974, Younger resigned from his judgeship to move upstate, accepting a professorship at the Cornell University Law School. From 1981 to 1984, Younger was a member of the
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
law firm of
Williams & ConnollyWilliams & Connolly LLP is a prominent litigation firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm was founded by legendary trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams, who left the partnership of D.C. firm Hogan & Hartson to launch his own litigation boutique....
, and from 1984 until his death in 1988, he was a professor at the
University of Minnesota Law SchoolThe University of Minnesota Law School, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a professional school of the University of Minnesota. The school offers a Juris Doctor , Masters of Law for Foreign Lawyers, and joint degrees with J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A, J.D./M.A., J.D./M.S., J.D./Ph.D., J.D./M.D.,...
. Younger specialized in the fields of
evidenceEvidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either a) presumed to be true, or b) were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's...
law and trial advocacy, and authored casebooks and training materials for lawyers in these subjects. His legal textbook
Principles of Evidence, originally co-authored with
Michael GoldsmithMichael Goldsmith is a law professor at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School.- Early life and education :Michael Goldsmith was born March 6, 1951 in Tel Aviv, Israel and immigrated to the United States of America with his family in June of 1955...
and more recently also with David Sonenshein, is currently in its 5th edition. He was a well-known lecturer to audiences of lawyers and law students, and almost twenty years after his death, tapes of his continuing legal education talks remain in frequent use, prized for their wit and theatrics as well as their substance and insight.
For several years, Younger authored a column on improving legal writing. He was also an avid legal historian, and his articles and lectures on the trial of alleged perjurer
Alger HissAlger Hiss was an American lawyer, civil servant, businessman, author and lecturer. He was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department and UN official...
, the story behind the case of Erie Railroad v. Tompkins, and the obscenity prosecution of
James JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish expatriate author, playwright and poet of the 20th century. He is known for his landmark novel Ulysses and its controversial successor Finnegans Wake , as well as the short story collection Dubliners and the semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of...
's book
UlyssesUlysses is a novel by James Joyce, first serialized in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on February 2, 1922, in Paris...
are still read.
Younger died of
pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer is a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. Each year in the United States, about 42,470 individuals are diagnosed with this condition and 35,240 die from the disease. The prognosis is generally poor; less than 5 percent of those diagnosed are still alive five years after diagnosis...
in 1988, at the age of 56.
Work experience
- Private law firm in New York(1958-1960)
- Assistant US Attorney (1960-1962)
- Opened his own law firm with his wife
- Civil court judge in New York City (1969-1974)
- Concurrently taught law at NYU
- Cornell Law faculty (1974-1981)
- Private Law firm in Washington, DC (Williams and Connelly) (1981-1984)
- Law professor at University of Minnesota (1984-1988)
The 10 Commandments of Cross Examination
- Be brief.
- Short questions, plain words.
- Always ask leading questions.
- Don't ask a question to which you do not know the answer.
- Listen to the witness' answers.
- Don't quarrel with the witness.
- Don't allow the witness to repeat his direct testimony.
- Don't permit the witness to explain his answers.
- Don't ask the "one question too many."
- Save the ultimate point of your cross for summation.
Sources
External links