David L. Bazelon

David Lionel Bazelon (September 3, 1909 – February 19, 1993) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Education and career Bazelon was born in Superior, Wisconsin, the son of Lena (Krasnovsky) and Israel Bazelon, a general store proprietor. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. Bazelon grew up in Chicago, Illinois and earned a Bachelor of Science in Law from Northwestern University in 1931. He read law to enter the bar in 1932. He entered private practice in Chicago from 1932 to 1935. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois from 1935 to 1946. He then worked as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Public Lands Division of the United States Department of Justice from 1946 until June 1, 1947, when he moved to Alien Property, where he remained until he became a judge. Federal judicial service In 1948, then-Attorney General Tom C. Clark lobbied for Bazelon's—Clark's deputy—appointment to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago but his nomination was not supported by Illinois' two US Senators, Democrats Lucas and Douglas. In Illinois, there was a widespread perception, including by Lucas and Douglas, that Bazelon was not qualified for the post. J. Edgar Hoover, Bazelon's long-time "friend and patron", had earlier urged Bazelon to take his post in the Justice Department and supported his bid for a judicial post. After Clark was confirmed as a US Supreme Court Justice, in breach of judicial norms, he continued to lobby for Bazelon's appointment although switching his efforts to getting Bazelon a seat on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Senators Lucas and Douglas supported Bazelon's appointment to that court despite the fact that Bazelon had contributed funds to the unsuccessful 1948 campaign of incumbent Republican US Senator Charles W. Brooks, whom Douglas defeated. Harold L. Ickes, a key figure in the Roosevelt administration, indicated that Bazelon's activities as head of the Office of Alien Property Custodian warranted a Senate investigation but predicted none would be forthcoming.