Ellsworth Van Graafeiland

Ellsworth Alfred Van Graafeiland (May 11, 1915 – November 20, 2004) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Education and career

Van Graafeiland was born on May 11, 1915, in Rochester, New York. His father was a clothing cutter. He first enrolled at the Cornell School of Agriculture with just $15 in his pockets, but transferred to the University of Rochester after receiving a job as a cashier at Walgreens, at a time when jobs were scarce. Van Graafeiland was an attorney in private practice in Rochester from 1940 to 1974, starting at the firm that became Wiser, Shaw, Freeman, Van Graafeiland, Harter and Secrest.

Opinions

Van Graafeiland was among the first federal judges to challenge the constitutionality of affirmative action regulations that involved quotas.

One of his judgments in 1976 reversed a court-ordered racial quota for school principals in New York City, opining that it was "constitutionally forbidden reverse discrimination."

In a 1978 case, Van Graafeiland endorsed stringent narcotics laws adopted under Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. That appeal reversed a decision by Judge Constance Baker Motley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, who had previously ruled that New York State sentences of up to life in prison for the sale of small amounts of narcotics were unconstitutionally severe.

In other opinions, Van Graafeiland criticized mandatory sentencing laws as inhuman, affirmed the rights of musicians to deduct the costs of practice rooms from their taxes in a ruling against the Internal Revenue Service (Drucker v. Commissioner, 1983), and found that the Muppets did not libel Spam (Hormel Foods Corporation v. Jim Henson Productions, 1986).

Personal life

Van Graafeiland was limited in his mobility due to a cast that he wore for scoliosis. He was known by friends as "Van". He was a piano player and composed the alma mater song in high school. He was married to Rosemary Vaeth Van Graafeiland and had five children.