- unitid
-
{"value"=>"186665", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b23465740", "type"=>"local_b"}
{"value"=>"MssCol 186665", "type"=>"local_call"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1937-1979", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1937/1979"}
{"value"=>"1966-1968", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1966/1968"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Joel J. Finer papers related to the defense of Dr. Timothy Leary"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"2 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"0.83 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Manuscripts and Archives</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Joel J. Finer was a lawyer who served as defense attorney for Timothy Leary, a psychologist and psychedelic drugs advocate, after Leary's 1966 conviction for marijuana possession. The Joel J. Finer papers related to the defense of Dr. Timothy Leary consist of correspondence, legal documents, research files, and a few photographs collected by Finer during his work to appeal Leary's conviction."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Finer, Joel J., 1938-2018", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Joel J. Finer (1938-2018) was a graduate of City College New York and Yale Law School. While at Yale, he served on the <span class=\"title\">Yale Law Journal</span>. He was later employed at the University of Texas School of Law, where he served as the head of the Federal Appellate Defender Program. During this time, Dr. Timothy Leary retained Finer as his lawyer for the appeal of Leary's 1966 conviction for the possession of marijuana. After the Leary case, Finer worked in private practice in New York City, was a visiting professor at Stanford University, and later was on the faculty of the University of Arizona College of Law and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University. Finer was specialized in the use of psychedelic drugs as a religious right, often writing about it from a legal standpoint.</p> <p>Dr. Timothy Leary (1920-1996) was an American psychologist whose advocacy of psychedelic drugs, especially LSD, made him a prominent member of the 1960s counterculture.</p> <p>During the 1960s and 1970s, Leary was arrested thirty-six times. On December 26, 1965, Leary was arrested for possession of marijuana and convicted under the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 on March 11, 1966. He appealed, with Finer as his lawyer, on the basis that the act was unconstitutional due to the fact that it required self-incrimination, and that it violated the constitutional right to free exercise of religion</p> <p>The case was taken to the Supreme Court in 1969, which found the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 unconstitutional. However, Leary was later sentenced to time in prison for possession of marijuana stemming from a 1968 arrest and incarcerated at California State Prison in February 1970. In September of that year he escaped and lived as a fugitive abroad. Leary was eventually captured in Kabul, Afghanistan and sent to Folsom Prison to serve out the rest of his sentence. He was released in 1976.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Joel J. Finer papers related to the defense of Dr. Timothy Leary date from 1937 to 1979 (bulk dates 1966-1968) and contain correspondence, legal documents, research, and photographs Finer collected while serving as Leary's attorney during the appeal of Leary's 1966 marijuana possession conviction.</p> <p>Correspondence includes letters written by Finer discussing Leary's case with various parties, such as news organizations, professors, and the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as letters written by Finer's colleagues defending Finer's interest in LSD. Leary's daughter Susan was arrested alongside her father, and part of the correspondence concerns Finer's search to find an attorney to represent her. Finer corresponded with Leary himself, and there are two letters Leary sent to Finer, as well as a letter sent to Leary from the Andover Newton Theological School. Finer also received correspondence that predates the case on the topic of research into psychedelics. The correspondence folders contain one photograph of \"Tim Leary is Free\" graffiti in Central Park in 1978, referring to Leary's later incarnation in California.</p> <p>Additionally, the collection contains printed legal documents from the appeal, often with Finer's annotations. Research that Finer collected on the use of psychedelics in religious ceremonies and for mental health, as well as the legality of marijuana, is also present. This includes information published by the Castalia Foundation, a bulletin from the Psychedelic Information Center, the announcement of the foundation of the Neo-American Church, and papers by Finer and others. Finer's notes accompany some of these materials.</p> <p>There is a small selection of press about Leary and the case, including issues of <span class=\"title\">The Realist</span> and the <span class=\"title\">San Francisco Oracle</span>, as well as press photographs.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>Alphabetically by format: Correspondence, Press, Legal Documents, and Research Materials.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by <span class=\"name\">Joan Finer</span> in <span class=\"date\">2019</span>.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Stacey Ference</span> in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1937
- keydate
-
1937
- date_end
-
1979
- date_inclusive_start
-
1937
- date_inclusive_end
-
1979
- date_bulk_start
-
1966
- date_bulk_end
-
1968
- extent_statement
-
0.83 linear feet (2 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Joel J. Finer papers related to the defense of Dr. Timothy Leary, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library"}