Goldberg, Arthur J.

▪ United States jurist

in full  Arthur Joseph Goldberg  

born Aug. 8, 1908, Chicago, Ill., U.S.

died Jan. 19, 1990, Washington, D.C.

      labour lawyer who served as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1962–65) and U.S. representative to the United Nations (1965–68).

      The son of Russian immigrants, Goldberg passed the Illinois bar examination at the age of 20, practiced law in Chicago from 1929 to 1948, and first gained national attention as counsel for the Chicago Newspaper Guild during its 1938 strike. In 1948 he went to Washington, D.C., as general counsel for the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the United Steelworkers of America. He was instrumental in merging the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the CIO in 1955 and in expelling from the general labour movement various unions thought to be dominated by communists or racketeers.

      After brief but effective service as secretary of labour in 1961–62, Goldberg was appointed to the Supreme Court by President John F. Kennedy on Aug. 29, 1962. Goldberg's record on the court was generally that of a liberal activist. In a highly controversial case, Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 (1964), he held that a criminal suspect must have the assistance of counsel when, prior to his indictment, he is interrogated by police for the purpose of eliciting a confession.

      On July 20, 1965, at President Lyndon B. Johnson's request, Goldberg relinquished his seat on the Supreme Court and became U.S. representative to the UN, with the rank of ambassador. His frustration at the continuing escalation of the Vietnam War prompted him to resign his UN post in 1968.

      In 1970 he was defeated as a candidate for governor of New York by the Republican incumbent, Nelson Rockefeller. In 1971 he returned to Washington, D.C., where he continued his legal practice. He also served in international arbitration cases and, in 1977 and 1978, during the Jimmy Carter administration, twice acted as ambassador-at-large. In his final years he was engaged in human-rights projects.

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