Luis Kutner papers, 1880-1993

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Summary

Creators:
Kutner, Luis, 1908-1993, Commission for International Due Process of Law, and World Habeas Corpus Commission
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.
Extent:
305 manuscript boxes, 5 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder, 1 phonotape reel (129.0 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Luis Kutner papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
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
Acquisition information:
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.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

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.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Luis Kutner papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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