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Max Raskin
View on WikipediaMax Raskin (November 8, 1902 – August 22, 1984) was a Belarusian-born Jewish American lawyer and judge who served as Milwaukee City Attorney from 1932 to 1936 and later as a judge of the Wisconsin Circuit Court from 1963 to 1980.
Key Information
Early life
[edit]Raskin was born to Jewish parents in Vitebsk, a majority-Jewish city in the Russian Empire (in what is now Belarus), and emigrated with his family at the age of nine.[1] He graduated from the Marquette University Law School in 1926 and practiced in Milwaukee as a labor law attorney.[2]
Political career
[edit]
Raskin ran unsuccessfully for Milwaukee County District Attorney in 1930.[3] In 1932, he was elected Milwaukee City Attorney as a Socialist, unseating nonpartisan incumbent John M. Niven.[4] After his election, Raskin appointed former judge and Socialist state senator William F. Quick as his first assistant and employed Edwin Knappe, a former Socialist state representative, as an assistant city attorney.[5] As city attorney, Raskin collaborated closely with Mayor Daniel W. Hoan, also a Socialist, and required assistant city attorneys to relinquish any employment in private practice.[6] He was harshly criticized by the conservative Milwaukee Sentinel for "his refusal to prosecute communistic rioters".[7]
Raskin was defeated in his 1936 reelection bid and reentered private practice. In 1937, he was elected as a national committeeman of the Socialist Party of America[8] but, in 1940,[9] he left the party and joined the Wisconsin Progressive Party. In 1944, he became a Democrat.[1] Raskin ran for judicial office in 1949 and 1956 but was twice defeated; in 1963, his political ally Governor John W. Reynolds, Jr., appointed him to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.[10] Raskin served on the court until 1973 and, following his mandatory retirement at the age of 70, continued to serve the state as a reserve judge. In that capacity, he stepped in as Acting Circuit Court Judge in Waukesha County for Judge William E. Gramling during a lengthy struggle with cancer.[1] He died in 1984 at the age of 81.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Raskin's nephew, Marcus Raskin, was a progressive activist and social critic.[11] His grandnephew is Congressman Jamie Raskin.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Former circuit judge, Max Raskin, dies of cancer". The Milwaukee Journal. 22 August 1984. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Max Raskin, Two Others Form Law Firm". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 27 December 1958. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "For Circuit Judge in Branch 8". The Milwaukee Journal. 26 February 1949. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Women Voters' League Reports on Candidates". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 13 March 1932. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Raskin Ousts Six Niven Aids". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 20 April 1932. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Rivals Batter Raskin; All 5 See Victory". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 17 March 1936. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Milwaukee Rebukes Radicalism". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 9 April 1936. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Hoan Leaves Party Board". The Milwaukee Journal. 29 March 1937. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Raskin Seeks Judge's Post, Campaign Spending Curb". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 6 November 1955. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Raskin Is Appointed Circuit Court Judge". The Milwaukee Journal. 9 October 1963. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Milwaukeean Raskin Has Served Presidents". The Milwaukee Journal. 6 January 1968. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
