Frank C. Newman

Frank Cecil Newman (July 17, 1917 – February 18, 1996) was an American law school dean, state supreme court justice, and scholar and advocate of reform in the field of international human rights law. He was the Dean of Berkeley Law School from 1961 to 1966, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from 1977 to 1982, and Jackson H. Ralston Professor of International Law at Berkeley from 1982 to 1988. Following his retirement, he was professor emeritus at Berkeley.

Early life and education Frank Cecil Newman was born on 17 July 1917 in Eureka, California, USA. He was educated at South Pasadena High School where he was a member of the class of 1934. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree from Dartmouth College in 1938. Newman studied for his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1941. Their first son, Robert, was born in 1942. A second child, daughter Julie, was born here in 1945. |group="n"

In 1964 Newman chaired the Drafting and Executive Committees of the California Constitution Revision Commission, overseeing the 1972 completion of a thorough revision of the Constitution of California. During the same period, from the mid-1960s onwards, Newman established himself as a "globally respected scholar and defender of human rights".

Coursebooks by Newman include International Human Rights: Problems of Law and Policy (with Richard B. Lillich, 1979) and International Human Rights: Policy and Process (with David S. Weissbrodt, 2nd edition 1996). For details of her life and career, see her obituary in Human Rights Advocates.

The following year, on 6 May 1997, a memorial session of the Supreme Court of California was convened to honor Newman. Those present included Newman's widow and daughter, and other family and friends. Those who spoke, following opening remarks by the Chief Justice, were Herma Hill Kay, Dean of Boalt Hall School of Law, staff attorney Guy Coburn who had worked with Newman, and former Associate Justice Cruz Reynoso who had served with Newman and spoke on behalf of the court. At the dedication, Newman's widow Frances said: I know how greatly pleased – and honored – Frank would have been by the advent of this new center. With gratitude, our daughter Holly and I look forward to the years ahead, assured that [...] members of the younger and future generations will continue Frank’s worldwide pursuit of human rights as dedicated and effective torch-bearers."