Max_Raskin

Max Raskin

Max Raskin

American jurist and politician

Max Raskin (November 8, 1902 – August 22, 1984) was a Russian Jewish immigrant to the U.S., who served first as lawyer and then a judge. Raskin was Milwaukee City Attorney from 1932 to 1936 and later a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge in Milwaukee County from 1963 to 1973.

Quick Facts Acting Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Waukesha Circuit, Branch 1, Preceded by ...

Life and career

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] 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 politician 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]

Raskin's nephew,[11] Marcus Raskin, was a progressive activist and social critic.

References

  1. [1]
    "Former circuit judge, Max Raskin, dies of cancer". The Milwaukee Journal. 22 August 1984. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  2. [2]
    "Max Raskin, Two Others Form Law Firm". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 27 December 1958. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  3. [3]
    "For Circuit Judge in Branch 8". The Milwaukee Journal. 26 February 1949. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  4. [4]
    "Women Voters' League Reports on Candidates". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 13 March 1932. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  5. [5]
    "Raskin Ousts Six Niven Aids". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 20 April 1932. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  6. [6]
    "Rivals Batter Raskin; All 5 See Victory". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 17 March 1936. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  7. [7]
    "Milwaukee Rebukes Radicalism". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 9 April 1936. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  8. [8]
    "Hoan Leaves Party Board". The Milwaukee Journal. 29 March 1937. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  9. [9]
    "Raskin Seeks Judge's Post, Campaign Spending Curb". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 6 November 1955. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  10. [10]
    "Raskin Is Appointed Circuit Court Judge". The Milwaukee Journal. 9 October 1963. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  11. [11]
    "Milwaukeean Raskin Has Served Presidents". The Milwaukee Journal. 6 January 1968. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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