Scope and Content Note
The papers of Harold Leventhal (1915-1979) span the years 1932-1980, with the majority of the papers concentrated in the period 1964-1979. The bulk of the material documents Leventhal's career as judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, 1964-1979. The papers consist of five series: Correspondence , Private Legal Practice , United States Court of Appeals File , Speeches and Writings File , and Miscellany .
The Correspondence series, 1940-1979, includes incoming and outgoing letters relating to personal and professional matters. An item worthy of special mention is a letter from actor Kirk Douglas to Leventhal reflecting on their friendship. It is attached to a 9 September 1976 letter of Leventhal to Douglas located in the folder "D" miscellaneous, 1974-1976.
Papers in the Private Legal Practice series, 1947-1966, reflect Leventhal's diverse legal practice as a member of the firm of Ginsburg and Leventhal. Leventhal provided counsel on rate-making theory for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. In his capacity as general counsel to the Democratic National Committee, he played a critical part in the seating of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party delegation at the national party's convention in 1964 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The files in this series are incomplete and do not fully record Leventhal's years as a private attorney, and there are only a few items relating to his major consumer case concerning the illegality of a District of Columbia transit bus fare increase (Bebchick v. Public Utilities Commission).
The United States Court of Appeals File , 1932-1979, documents Leventhal's fourteen years of service as a federal appellate judge. This file consists of four subseries: Correspondence , Case File , Notebooks and Notes , and Office File . The Correspondence subseries, 1964-1979, includes incoming and outgoing memoranda primarily between Leventhal and his judicial colleagues. Arranged by court term, the memoranda reveal the spirited give and take of the members of the court when deciding cases. Correspondence in Allen v. Morton consists chiefly of letters from the public criticizing the court's prohibition of government sponsorship of the nativity scene in the Christmas pageant of peace near the White House in Washington, D.C.
The Case File , 1932-1979, the largest subseries in the Court of Appeals File , comprises almost half of the collection. It includes correspondence and memoranda, chiefly between judges, court clerks, and lawyers, as well as opinions (primarily in draft form), orders, briefs, motions, reports, notes, and printed matter. The cases are arranged into three categories: general, Watergate, and district court and other circuit cases.
The general files category of the Case File comprises the bulk of the Court of Appeals series and is arranged chronologically by court term, September through June, and therein by case number. The numbering system of cases changed in the 1970 term, at which point cases were assigned numbers containing a yearly prefix. Since the number assignment apparently began in January by calendar year, cases sometimes have yearly prefixes which differ from the their term, e.g. the 1970 term has some cases bearing the 1971 prefix. In addition, cases in the 1970 through 1973 terms have two styles of numbers because some cases were carried forward into later terms. Cases are filed by date of last court action. The general files reflect the diverse and intricate nature of the cases heard by the court of appeals in the areas of criminal law, constitutional law, and administrative law. Administrative law was Leventhal's principal interest, and he made many contributions to the field through his opinions, speeches, and writings. Many of the general case files are incomplete, however, and contain only a few items.
The remaining case files refer to the Watergate break-in litigation and to Leventhal's work on cases in the United States Distict Court for the District of Columbia and as a visiting judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. These files provide extensive documentation of the court of appeals review of federal district judges' rulings relating to the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex and the cover-up of the burglary by government officials.
The final two subseries of the United States Court of Appeals File consist of Notebooks and Notes and an Office File . The Notebooks and Notes , 1965-1979, contain the detailed notes Leventhal took about the cases that came before him for oral argument and his notes taken in conference in three-judge panels or en bancs when a case was heard by the entire court. The Office File subseries, 1936-1979, relates to Leventhal's administrative and professional duties as an appellate judge and chronicle his activities with various committees, bar associations, and law schools. Also reflected are topics of interest to him, such as the media, science, and attorneys' fees for public interest representation. There is some overlap between the Office File subseries and the Private Legal Practice series.
The Speeches and Writings File , 1946-1980, documents Leventhal's busy schedule as a speaker and writer. The files contain correspondence, memoranda, and drafts and final copies and often include an extensive amount of research material. Speech texts are arranged by date of engagement, and articles are arranged by date of publication. A few of Leventhal's articles are interfiled with the speech texts, Set A, final copies. Notebooks in the writings file contain notes by Leventhal on a variety of topics and some of his jottings made while attending various meetings.
The final series, Miscellany , 1940-1979, consists mainly of teaching material relating to Leventhal's appointment as a visiting lecturer at Yale University, 1957-1962. Other files document his service with the Office of Price Administration and as a member of the prosecution staff for the Nuremberg War Crime Trials.
Among the more significant and frequent of Leventhal's correspondents are Walter M. Bastian, David L. Bazelon, Warren E. Burger, John Anthony Danaher, Kirk Douglas, Charles Fahy, David Ginsburg, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Louis Lusky, Carl McGowan, Harriet F. Pilpel, Joseph Pois, Stanley Forman Reed, John J. Sirica, Simon Ernest Sobeloff, Harlan Fiske Stone, Edward A. Tamm, and J. Skelly Wright.