Darrow

Clarence Darrow, called “Attorney for the Damned,” was one of this
country’s best criminal defense lawyers. He used his strong
advocacy skills not only on behalf of clients but to transform
American thought. The issues he addressed included the rights
of labor unions, the abuses of child labor, the importance of
freedom of expression and the ineffectiveness of capital punishment.

Darrow made his mark initially as a labor lawyer during the Pullman
strike of 1894, defending labor organizer Eugene V. Debs and the
American Railway Union. During a Pennsylvania coal strike, he
exposed the extensive use of child labor. In 1907 and 1910, he
defended labor leaders accused of bombings in Idaho and California.

In the sensational kidnapping-murder trial of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in 1924, Darrow pioneered the use of psychiatric testimony in a criminal case. An outspoken critic of the death penalty, Darrow’s impassioned two-day plea led to life sentences for both defendants. No Darrow client ever received a death sentence.

His final great trial was the Scopes “Monkey Trial” of 1925. Darrow’s defense of Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes, accused of teaching the theory of evolution, has become synonymous with the defense of free thought and human progress.

Clarence Darrow lived at 1537 East 60th Street overlooking the Jackson Park lagoon for much of his professional life. Upon his death, his ashes were scattered on the water, and the bridge has become the site of an annual celebration of Darrow’s life and principles.