Medina, << muh DEE nuh, >> Harold Raymond (1888-1990), an American judge, won international fame for his fair conduct of the trial of 11 American Communist Party leaders in 1949. These leaders were convicted of conspiring to teach and advocate the overthrow of the U.S. government by force. Medina urged the jury to be calm and cautioned that “justice does not flourish amidst emotional excitement and stress.”
Judge Medina was born on Feb. 16, 1888, in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Princeton University. He received his law degree from Columbia University in 1912 and taught there from 1915 to 1947. He practiced law in New York City until he was appointed a federal judge in 1947. He retired from that post in 1958. He died on March 14, 1990.
