13 Facts About Herbert Wechsler

Herbert Wechsler was an American legal scholar and former director of the American Law Institute.

Herbert Wechsler is most widely known for his constitutional law scholarship and for the creation of the Model Penal Code.

Herbert Wechsler entered City College of New York at 16 and graduated in 1928, with a bachelor's degree in French.

Herbert Wechsler enrolled at Columbia Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review and graduated in 1931.

In 1940, Herbert Wechsler went to Washington, DC, to work for the Department of Justice.

Herbert Wechsler argued five cases in front of the US Supreme Court during that period.

Herbert Wechsler then returned to Columbia Law School, where he remained an active professor until 1978, when he took emeritus status.

In 1963, Herbert Wechsler's proposed official draft of the Model Penal Code was approved, bringing to a close a decade-long project at the American Law Institute.

Shortly after the approval of the Model Code, Herbert Wechsler was named director of the Institute, a position which he held until 1984.

In 1964, Wechsler argued the seminal case New York Times v Sullivan before the Supreme Court.

Herbert Wechsler served as the first chair of the New York Commission on Judicial Nomination from 1977 until 1982.

Herbert Wechsler received the Association Medal of the New York City Bar Association for exceptional contributions to the honor and standing of the bar in the community.

Herbert Wechsler was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.