Irving Lehman

Irving Lehman (January 28, 1876 – September 22, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945.

He was a justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1909 to 1923, elected in 1908 on the Democratic ticket, and re-elected in 1922 on the Democratic and Republican tickets.

Judge Lehman (far right) swears in New York City's first American Labor Party councilmen, 1937.(L-R): Salvatore Ninfo, Baruch Charney Vladeck, Andrew R. Armstrong, Louis Hollander, Charles Belous, Mike Quill, Irving Lehman.

In 1923, he was elected on the Democratic and Republican tickets to a 14-year term on the New York Court of Appeals, and re-elected in 1937. In 1939, he was elected Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals on the Democratic, Republican and American Labor tickets, and remained on the bench until his death in office. In 1943 the United States Supreme Court granted Buchalter's petition to review the case and in a full opinion affirmed the conviction, 7–0, with two justices abstaining. (319 U.S. 427 (1943)) Finally, Judge Lehman signed a show cause order in 1944 because the counsel for the trio had appeared before Governor Thomas E. Dewey in a clemency plea, and Lehman eventually delayed the execution of the condemned men. Even so, the clemency plea was denied by Governor Dewey. On March 4, 1944, Emanuel Weiss thanked Chief Judge Lehman in his final words before being electrocuted in Sing Sing.

Personal life On June 26, 1901, he married Sissie Straus, the daughter of Nathan Straus, The couple was childless.

Lehman died of a heart ailment on September 22, 1945, at his home on Ridge Street in Port Chester, New York. Services were held at Temple Emanu El in Manhattan. He was buried at the Cypress Hills Cemetery.