Jonathan Uhry Newman
Jonathan Uhry Newman was an American attorney and judge.Biography
Johnathan Newman was born on January 9, 1927 in San Francisco, California to Rabbi Louis Israel Newman and Lucille Uhry Newman. He attended Ethical Culture Fieldston School and then went on to Yale University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1948. He then attended Yale Law School, graduating in 1951.
In 1951, Newman married Carol Laura Spero, sister of artist, Nancy Spero.
In 1953, Newman moved to Portland, Oregon where he practiced law. He was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, serving as its first secretary and as a board member between 1955-1968. In 1982, the Oregon ACLU awarded him its highest honor, the E.B. MacNaughton Civil Liberties Award.
From 1968-1979 Newman served on the Portland school board and was "a driving force behind desegregating the schools". In 1982, he was elected to the Oregon Court of Appeals where he served until 1991. On October 24, 1991 Newman died of leukemia in Portland, Oregon.
He routinely hiked on the weekends throughout the 1950s until his death and Newman's memorial service was held at the base of the Topspur Trailhead in the Mount Hood National Forest where his friends dedicated a plaque. It sits on a stone at the beginning of the trail as of August 2016.
The annual Jonathan U. Newman Legal Citizen of the Year Award given by Classroom Law Project to recognize leadership in civic education and engagement is named after Judge Newman.
