Mark Levin
Encyclopedia
Mark Reed Levin is a lawyer
, author
and the host of American
syndicated radio show
The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese
. He is president of the Landmark Legal Foundation
, has authored bestselling books and contributes commentary to various media outlets such as National Review Online where he is a currently credited author.
to a Jewish family. Levin graduated from Cheltenham High School
and holds a bachelor of arts from Temple University
, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa
and magna cum laude
. Levin also earned a juris doctorate
from Temple University Beasley School of Law
.
Beginning in 1981, Levin served as advisor to several members of President
Ronald Reagan
's cabinet
, eventually becoming Associate Director of Presidential Personnel and ultimately Chief of Staff to Attorney General
Edwin Meese
; Levin also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education
at the U.S. Department of Education
, and Deputy Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior
.
He practiced law
in the private sector and is president of Landmark Legal Foundation
, a conservative public interest law firm
founded in 1976 and based in Leesburg, Virginia
.
Levin is married with two children.
Levin has participated in Freedom Concerts, an annual benefit concert to aid families of fallen soldiers, and he uses his radio program to promote same. Levin is also involved with Troopathon, a charity which sends care packages to soldiers serving overseas.
In 2001, the American Conservative Union
awarded Levin its Ronald Reagan
Award.
, where Limbaugh referred to him on-air as "F. Lee Levin," a tongue-in-cheek reference to the famous defense attorney F. Lee Bailey. He was also a contributor to The Sean Hannity Show
and eventually got a radio slot of his own on WABC
, following Sean Hannity
's program. Hannity has nicknamed Mark Levin "The Great One". Levin and Hannity remain frequent contributors to each other's programs.
s on the Supreme Court (from all parts of the political spectrum) have "legislated from the bench." In her review of Men in Black, Slate
magazine's legal correspondent and Canadian journalist Dahlia Lithwick
wrote that "no serious scholar of the court or the Constitution, on the ideological left or right, is going to waste their time engaging Levin's arguments once they've read this book." In contrast, a review in the Defense Counsel Journal described Men in Black as "a forceful indictment of what Levin identifies as an increasingly 'activist' court for amending our national Constitution in the guise of construing it."
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto was released on March 24, 2009, and became a No. 1 New York Times best seller for eleven of twelve weeks, as well as No. 1 on Nielsen's BookScan. It comes in at No. 2 on Amazon.com
's list of bestselling books of 2009. The book includes discussion of a variety of issues that, according to Levin, need to be addressed in the United States. Liberty and Tyranny has sold over one million copies according to Threshold Editions
, the book's publisher. Former federal prosecutor
and fellow National Review Online author Andrew C. McCarthy
wrote of Liberty and Tyranny in The New Criterion
:
Taking a contrary view, Steve Almond
of Salon wrote that
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and the host of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
syndicated radio show
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese
Edwin Meese
Edwin "Ed" Meese, III is an attorney, law professor, and author who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Administration , the Reagan Presidential Transition Team , and the Reagan White House , eventually rising to hold the position of the 75th Attorney General of...
. He is president of the Landmark Legal Foundation
Landmark Legal Foundation
The Landmark Legal Foundation is non-profit 5013 conservative legal advocacy group, with a $1 million annual budget. The President is Mark Levin. Through litigation and direct interfacing with government agencies, it advances a platform of limited government...
, has authored bestselling books and contributes commentary to various media outlets such as National Review Online where he is a currently credited author.
Biography
Mark R. Levin was born in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
to a Jewish family. Levin graduated from Cheltenham High School
Cheltenham High School
Cheltenham High School is a public high school in Wyncote, Pennsylvania serving grades 9 through 12. Cheltenham is the Senior High School in the School District of Cheltenham Township...
and holds a bachelor of arts from Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...
and magna cum laude
Latin honors
Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. This system is primarily used in the United States, Canada, and in many countries of continental Europe, though some institutions also use the English translation of these...
. Levin also earned a juris doctorate
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Temple University Beasley School of Law
Temple University Beasley School of Law
The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school and a constituent academic unit of Temple University. Informally referred to as Temple Law School, the school is located at the Main Campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Temple University James E...
.
Beginning in 1981, Levin served as advisor to several members of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's cabinet
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
, eventually becoming Associate Director of Presidential Personnel and ultimately Chief of Staff to Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Edwin Meese
Edwin Meese
Edwin "Ed" Meese, III is an attorney, law professor, and author who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Administration , the Reagan Presidential Transition Team , and the Reagan White House , eventually rising to hold the position of the 75th Attorney General of...
; Levin also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education is a division of the United States Department of Education. Its purpose is to promote academic excellence, enhance educational opportunities and equity for all of America's children and families, and to improve the quality of teaching and learning by...
at the U.S. Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, and Deputy Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
.
He practiced law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in the private sector and is president of Landmark Legal Foundation
Landmark Legal Foundation
The Landmark Legal Foundation is non-profit 5013 conservative legal advocacy group, with a $1 million annual budget. The President is Mark Levin. Through litigation and direct interfacing with government agencies, it advances a platform of limited government...
, a conservative public interest law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
founded in 1976 and based in Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according the 2010 Census is 42,616...
.
Levin is married with two children.
Levin has participated in Freedom Concerts, an annual benefit concert to aid families of fallen soldiers, and he uses his radio program to promote same. Levin is also involved with Troopathon, a charity which sends care packages to soldiers serving overseas.
In 2001, the American Conservative Union
American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
awarded Levin its Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
Award.
Radio broadcasting
Levin began his broadcast career as a guest on conservative talk radio programs. For many years he was a frequent contributor of legal opinions to The Rush Limbaugh ShowThe Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks...
, where Limbaugh referred to him on-air as "F. Lee Levin," a tongue-in-cheek reference to the famous defense attorney F. Lee Bailey. He was also a contributor to The Sean Hannity Show
The Sean Hannity Show
The Sean Hannity Show is a talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity on Citadel Media and Premiere Radio Networks. The program is broadcast live every weekday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m...
and eventually got a radio slot of his own on WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
, following Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
's program. Hannity has nicknamed Mark Levin "The Great One". Levin and Hannity remain frequent contributors to each other's programs.
Men In Black: How The Supreme Court is Destroying America
Levin authored the bestselling book, Men In Black: How The Supreme Court Is Destroying America in 2005, in which Levin advanced his thesis that activist judgeJudicial activism
Judicial activism describes judicial ruling suspected of being based on personal or political considerations rather than on existing law. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint. The definition of judicial activism, and which specific decisions are activist, is a controversial...
s on the Supreme Court (from all parts of the political spectrum) have "legislated from the bench." In her review of Men in Black, Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
magazine's legal correspondent and Canadian journalist Dahlia Lithwick
Dahlia Lithwick
-External links:*...
wrote that "no serious scholar of the court or the Constitution, on the ideological left or right, is going to waste their time engaging Levin's arguments once they've read this book." In contrast, a review in the Defense Counsel Journal described Men in Black as "a forceful indictment of what Levin identifies as an increasingly 'activist' court for amending our national Constitution in the guise of construing it."
Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish
In 2007, Levin released a book about his dogs, Pepsi and Sprite. Specifically, the book was about Sprite, a Spaniel mix that his wife and son persuaded him to adopt from the local shelter in 2004. The book was titled Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish. Rescuing Sprite chronicles Sprite’s health deterioration in 2006 and how Levin and his family dealt with their loss.Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's list of bestselling books of 2009. The book includes discussion of a variety of issues that, according to Levin, need to be addressed in the United States. Liberty and Tyranny has sold over one million copies according to Threshold Editions
Threshold Editions
Threshold Editions is an imprint of Simon & Schuster — the publishing division of CBS Corporation — specializing in conservative non-fiction. Louise Burke is the publisher, Anthony Ziccardi is the deputy publisher, and the imprint's senior editors include Mitchell Ivers, Kathy Sagan,...
, the book's publisher. Former federal prosecutor
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
and fellow National Review Online author Andrew C. McCarthy
Andrew C. McCarthy
Andrew C. McCarthy III is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. A Republican, he is most notable for leading the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others. The defendants were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center...
wrote of Liberty and Tyranny in The New Criterion
The New Criterion
The New Criterion is a New York-based monthly literary magazine and journal of artistic and cultural criticism, edited by Hilton Kramer and Roger Kimball. It has sections for criticism of poetry, theater, art, music, the media, and books...
:
Taking a contrary view, Steve Almond
Steve Almond
Steve Almond is an American short story writer and essayist. He is the author of eight books.-Life:He was raised in Palo Alto, California, and graduated from Henry M. Gunn High School. He received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University. He spent seven years as a newspaper reporter,...
of Salon wrote that
Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America
Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America will be released January 17, 2012. Amazon's pre-publication notes describe this book as exploring "the psychology, motivations, and history of the utopian movement, its architects, and its modern day disciples – and how the individual and American society are being devoured by it."External links
- Mark Levin Show, The Official Mark Levin Website
- marklevinshow TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
feed - The Official Mark Levin Show Audio Rewind
- Landmark Legal Foundation
- Mark Levin is on the air from NationalReview.com