Simon Sobeloff

Simon Sobeloff
29th Solicitor General of the United States
In office February 1954 – July 1956
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Walter Cummings
Succeeded by	J. Lee Rankin
Personal details
Born	Simon Ernest Sobeloff (1894-12-03)December 3, 1894 Baltimore, Maryland
Died	July 11, 1973(1973-07-11) (aged 78)
Resting place	Friendship Cemetery, Baltimore
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Irene Ehrlich ​ (m. 1918)​
Children	2 daughters

Simon Ernest Sobeloff (December 3, 1894 – July 11, 1973) was an American attorney and jurist, who served as Solicitor General of the United States, as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, and as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Life and career

Sobeloff was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Jacob and Mary Hilda (Kaplan) Sobeloff, who were Russian Jewish immigrants. Sobeloff attended public schools including Baltimore City College and the University of Maryland School of Law, where he received his LL.B. degree in 1915.

He served as a Page in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1910. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1914, was a law clerk in Baltimore the same year, and subsequently went into private practice. From 1919 through 1924 he served as the assistant city solicitor for Baltimore and was appointed the deputy city solicitor for Baltimore from 1927 to 1931. In 1931 he became the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, where he served until 1934. Subsequently, he was selected to be the Baltimore City Solicitor and the Special counsel to Baltimore City Housing Commission. In 1952, he was appointed to the position of Chief judge, Maryland Court of Appeals, where he served until 1954.

From 1954 through 1956, Sobeloff served as United States Solicitor General in the Administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Sobeloff presented the government's arguments on the implementation of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, to outlaw segregation in public schools. In 1956 he was appointed judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and in 1958 he became the chief judge, where he served until his death. He is buried in Hebrew Friendship Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland.

He married Irene Ehrlich in May 1918 and they had two daughters: Ruth J. S. (Sobeloff) Mayer; Evva S. (Sobeloff) Goldstrom Vale; and four grandchildren: Michael Sobeloff Mayer; Sally Mayer Kliegman; Susan Goldstrom Plichta; Emily Goldstrom Schwab.

Sources

• Solicitor General's Website

External links

• Judge Simon E. Sobeloff, 1894–1973
• Simon Sobeloff at Find a Grave
• Simon Sobeloff at the Justice Department bio page