Mayer C. Goldman was an American lawyer and advocate of a public defender in criminal cases.
Background
Goldman was born on September 2, 1874 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the eldest of five children of David and Selma (Franko) Goldman, both natives of that city. His father, though educated as a rabbi, became a lawyer. His mother was the oldest of eleven children, all musically talented, who toured Europe as a child orchestra; two of them, Sam and Nahan Franko, later became prominent violinists in New York City. One of Mayer Goldman's brothers was Edwin Franko Goldman, the well-known bandmaster and composer. After the death of his father in 1886 the family moved from Terre Haute, Indiana, where they were then living, to New York City, where Goldman's mother gave piano lessons.
Education
Young Goldman had to go to work at an early age to help support the family, but he attended the Central Evening High School. Later, while working as a law clerk, he took evening classes at the New York University School of Law. He graduated and was admitted to the bar in 1895.
Career
Goldman's championship of the "public defender" idea, which became both a hobby and a life work, began about 1914 and lasted until his death. His particular concern was the plight of the poor man accused of crime, and his proposed remedy was a salaried public official, comparable to the public prosecutor. As he explained it, this would mean "the substitution of a sworn public counsel, possessing integrity, ability, experience and power for the incompetent, uncompensated or indifferent lawyer who is often assigned to a helpless and impecunious prisoner. " Goldman's proposed reform, particularly as set forth in his book The Public Defender (1917), had a substantial impact. Los Angeles County, in California, had established a public defender as early as 1913. After the publication of Goldman's book a number of other communities followed suit - some thirteen by 1921, including San Francisco, Omaha, and all the counties in Connecticut. But with the publication of Reginald Heber Smith's Justice and the Poor (1919) the problem took on a somewhat different perspective. From the start some lawyers had opposed the idea of "socializing" the defense function, and in Smith's book and in the broad legal-aid movement that took shape after the first World War the function of defending indigent persons accused of crime was treated as one which might be provided under either public or private auspices. Goldman nevertheless continued his crusade and continued to win adherents. As of 1951 there were twenty-eight public defenders in existence, some in cities as important as Chicago and St. Louis. The idea of public defenders in federal district courts had also won considerable favor, having been endorsed by Attorney-General Homer Cummings, among others. He carried on a successful legal practice in New York City, serving for many years as counsel for the magazine publisher Bernarr Macfadden. He died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage in New York City on November 24, 1939, and was cremated there.
Achievements
Goldman ranks as an important pioneer in the history of the legal-aid movement in the United States.
Personality
A forceful speaker, who impressed his hearers with his earnestness, Goldman had unshakable faith and enthusiasm.
Connections
On June 17, 1902, Goldman married Mattie Marcosson of Louisville, Kentucky, and Cleveland, Ohio. They had two children, Helen May and Allan David.
