Progressive District Judge Wyzanski is Dead at 80

U.S. District Court Judge Charles E. Wyzanski Jr. '27, a nationally acclaimed legal thinker and longtime Harvard affiliate, died in Boston Wednesday at the age of 80.

"A tiger on the bench," according to an associate, Wyzanski was known for his progressive opinions in cases ranging from state corruption to selective service. He died suddenly of a massive cerebral hemorrhage.

Wyzanksi's early rulings in favor of conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War drew praise from youth in the 1960s. Many of the decisions he made in Boston federal courtrooms, where he had presided since 1941, drew controversy.

In 1967, Wyzanski ruled that schools could not regulate student hair length, eliminated corporal punishment in Boston public schools and told Washington officials that the Vietnam War was being waged illegally.

Attempts were twice made by Massachusetts legislators to limit his authority. Nonetheless, he was frequently mentioned as a candidate for a U.S. Supreme Court post.

The Cambridge native graduated in 1930 from Harvard Law School, where he studied under acclaimed jurist Felix Frankfurter. He received an honorary law degree in 1958, was a senior member of the Society of Fellows, and served as president of the Board of Overseers three decades ago.

After beginning his career as a clerk under the preeminent judges, Augustus and Leonard Hand, Wyzanski became a member of the "brain trust" of Franklin D. Roosevelt '04 and successfully argued several significant cases on New Deal legislation before the Supreme Court. Known as the "infant prodigy" of Roosevelt's coterie, Wyzanski served in the New Deal Administration from 1933 until 1937, helping draft the Social Security Act and numerous tax laws.

Wyzanski enjoyed a reputation for a rarely equalled intellect and a fondness for friendly debate. "He had a talent for provoking people into discussion and disputation," said Law School Professor Emeritus Paul A. Freund, a longtime friend.

Wyzanski was also an avid book collector, amassing what former clerk Stephen R. Latham '82 called "a house filled with wall-to-wall books." Associates praised Wyzanski's dedication to legal scholarship, noting that he wrote his own opinions--an increasingly uncommon practice.

"He has never really left Harvard and everyone knows him," said a friend.