Peter H. Irons (born August 11, 1940) is an American political activist, civil rights attorney, legal scholar, and professor emeritus of political science. He has written many books on the U.S. Supreme Court and constitutional litigation.
He embarked on his current path in 1963 when he was sentenced to three years imprisonment at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut for refusing military induction on the ground that the Federal government perpetuated racial discrimination. While serving most of that sentence, he began corresponding with Howard Zinn, who sent him books on civil liberties and American politics. His conviction was ultimately reversed by a federal judge on the ground of prosecutorial misconduct. Later, President Gerald Ford granted him a pardon for refusing induction.
He is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego[1] and an author on legal history. He retired from the university in 2004 and now devotes some of his time to causes that interest him. He has undertaken some legal work in issues of the separation of church and state and written some articles for the Montana Law Review.
Starting in 1989, Irons represented the plaintiffs in the Mount Soledad case in San Diego, pro bono. He discontinued his involvement in the case in 1998 when threats made him fear for the safety of his two daughters.[3]
1989 – Ceil Podoloff Award by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)[6]
1989 – American Bar Association Certificate of Merit award The Courage of Their Convictions: Sixteen Americans Who Fought Their Way to the U.S. Supreme Court[7]
Works
Books
Irons, Peter H. (1982). The New Deal lawyers. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. ISBN0-691-04688-3.
Irons, Peter H.; Stephanie Guitton (1995). May It Please the Court: Arguments on Abortion/Book and 2 Cassettes. New York: New Press. ISBN1-56584-223-5.
Irons, Peter H. (1997). May It Please The Court: The First Amendment. Diane Pub Co. ISBN0-7567-7619-8.