Biography
Abraham J. Isserman was a defense lawyer at the 1949 Foley Square Smith Act trial of the eleven Communist Party leaders. Cited for contempt by Judge Medina, he was jailed and disbarred for his defense of the case — among the harshest reprisals against any of the lawyers.
The National Guardian’s May 8, 1952 report distinguishes Abraham Isserman’s prison contempt punishment from the professional disciplinary proceedings. It reports that federal Judge Carroll C. Hincks did not find the alleged conspiracy established but nevertheless imposed a two-year disbarment on Isserman; the report also notes separate disbarment in New Jersey. These are historical professional penalties, not additional prison terms.
Contemporary legal-defense report, National Guardian, May 8, 1952, page 3.
