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Title: Luis Kutner papers
Date (inclusive): 1880-1993
Collection Number: 82015
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
305 manuscript boxes, 5 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder, 1 phonotape reel
(129.0 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Includes writings, correspondence, legal briefs, and printed matter relating to international civil rights cases, world federation,
and attempts to secure international recognition of habeas corpus and due process of law by an American lawyer who was both
chairman of the Commission for International Due Process of Law and the World Habeas Corpus Commission. Sound use copy of
sound recording available.
Creator:
Kutner, Luis, 1908-1993
Creator:
Commission for International Due Process of Law
Creator:
World Habeas Corpus Commission
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
The Kutner papers were acquired in 1982. Incremental materials in boxes 116 to 240 were added from 1983 to 1993. Incremental
materials in boxes 241 to 309 were added in 2011.
[Identification of item], Luis Kutner papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
| 1908 June 9 | Born, Chicago, Illinois |
| 1927 | J.D., University of Chicago |
| 1930 | Admitted to Bar, State of Illinois |
| 1944 | Author, The Admiral (biography of George Dewey) (with Laurin Healy) |
| 1948 | Author, Fights and Cascades, Moon Splashed, Red Wine and Shadows (poems) |
| 1953 | Author, Live in Twelve Minutes (novel) (with W. T. Brannon) |
| 1957 | Author, The International Court of Habeas Corpus and the United Nations Writ of Habeas Corpus |
| 1958 | Author, World Habeas Corpus: A Proposal for International Court of Habeas Corpus and the United Nations Writ of Habeas Corpus |
| 1961 | Co-founded Amnesty International (with Peter Benenson) |
| 1962 | Author, World Habeas Corpus |
| 1966 | Author, I, the Lawyer |
| 1967 | Wrote the first living will |
| 1970 | Editor, The Human Right to Individual Freedom: A Symposium on World Habeas to Corpus |
| Author, Legal Aspects of Charitable Trusts and Foundations: A Guide for Philanthropoids, The Intelligent Women's Guide to Future Security (also published as How to Be a Wise Widow) | |
| 1972 | U.S. congressional nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize |
| 1974 | Author, Due Process of Rebellion, How to Be a Wise Widow, and The Trialle of William Shakespeare (three-act play) |
| 1993 March 1 | Died, Chicago, Illinois |
Scope and Content of Collection
The Luis Kutner papers describe his activities as a lawyer, as chairman of the Commission for International Due Process of
Law, and as chairman of the World Habeas Corpus Commission. They consist of writings, correspondence, legal briefs, and printed
matter relating to international civil rights cases, world federation, and attempts to secure international recognition of
habeas corpus and due process of law.
The materials reflect Kutner's advocacy for the right to a fair trial based on due process of law, his crusade against unlawful
arrest and ill treatment of political prisoners, his propagation of the concepts of euthanasia and the living will to uphold
the right to die with dignity, and his commitment to saving the environment and protecting marine life.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Audiotapes
International organization
Civil rights
International law
Law
Lawyers -- United States
Due process of law
Habeas corpus (International law)