Fred E. Weisgal Papers

Fred Weisgal (b. 1919 - d. 1991) was a prominent civil rights attorney in Baltimore, Maryland during the mid-twentieth century. Weisgal immigrated to the U.S. with his family as a child and was a life-long resident of Baltimore. He attended the Johns Hopkins University, and earned his law degree from the University of Baltimore Law School in 1946. During his time in law school he founded and edited a weekly newspaper in Baltimore titled "People: the New Weekly", which lasted approximately 10 years. He married Jeanne (neé de LaViez) Weisgal in 1948 and they had five children.

Weisgal was also a musician and artist. He played Jazz piano in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and New York nightclubs to support himself while in school. Though he did not pursue a professional career in music, he continued to play jazz, perform, write fiction and music, and remain involved in creative activities throughout his life in Baltimore and later in Israel. He also sang with his father’s choir during holidays and both wrote and directed plays for a variety of charities around Baltimore. Weisgal was active in the Jewish community in Baltimore. Weisgal also collected art and antiques, wrote stories and articles for various publications, and composed music, including a piece for the 1982 TV movie titled, "A Woman Called Golda."

During his career in Baltimore, Weisgal worked for the ACLU of Maryland and focused on criminal law, constitutional law, and civil rights. In his first major case after graduation from the University of Baltimore Law School, Weisgal represented an African American Army veteran in his suit to admit African American students to the Maryland Institute art school (now Maryland Institute College of Art) in 1947. Weisgal’s career involved numerous note-worthy cases. He successfully argued before the Supreme Court in White v. Maryland for reforms to rights for persons arrested for serious crimes. This case established the principle in the U.S. that a person accused of a crime is entitled to counsel at the first stages of judicial proceedings. Weisgal also represented atheist Madalyn E. Murray O'Hare in her case protesting prayer in public schools in 1960. The case later led to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against prayer in schools. He also represented Philip Berrigan, a Baltimore Catholic anti-war activist. Weisgal also supported fair housing in Baltimore.

During his law career in Maryland, Weisgal taught courses and lectured at the University of Maryland School of Social Research, and at Law Schools and other departments of Harvard University, University of Virginia, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, and Sarah Lawrence College. Weisgal also participated in various community and professional activities in the Baltimore region.

In 1969, Mr. Weisgal emigrated with his family to Israel. There, he first served as a senior adviser to the attorney general and later was head of the American law section and foreign relations for the Ministry of Justice. He maintained his musical and creative activities while living in Israel. Weisgal retired in 1987 and returned to Baltimore with his wife.

Information for this biographical note came from materials in the collection and from local newspaper obituaries.