Vincent Hallinan
Encyclopedia
Vincent Hallinan was an American lawyer and a candidate for President of the United States
for the Progressive Party
in the 1952 election
.
. His father Patrick was said to be a member of the Irish National Invincibles
, a revolutionary organization that, among other activities, was reputed to have assassinated the Lord Mayor of Dublin
and his secretary in 1881, the infamous Phoenix Park Murders
, who then fled to the U.S. The elder Hallinan became a streetcar conductor in San Francisco, and was one of the leaders of the Great Front Strike of 1899-1900.
Trained by Jesuits in high school, Vincent passed the California Bar at the age of 22 after studies at the University of California, Berkeley
.
which ran most of the trolley lines on the streets of San Francisco and was a subsidiary of northern California rail interests. The rail company also owned the system whereby jurors' lists were kept and consulted by an appointed jury commissioner, in Hallinan's time an official of the railway, and he fought against this system for years before state law made the voter rolls the sole source of jurors.
Hallinan's years as a lawyer led to his selection in 1949, with a partner Roy McInnis, to defend Harry Bridges
of the ILWU on perjury charges arising from accusations that he had once been a Communist but had denied it.
After the trial, Hallinan spent six months in McNeil Island prison for a contempt citation during the high-profile Bridges trial. He was subsequently disbarred
by the State Bar of California but fought his way back into the bar after his release from jail.
Hallinan ran for President of the United States
in the 1952 election
, as the candidate for Henry Wallace
's Progressive Party
and was the third highest polling candidate in the election
.
He and his wife Vivian were indicted on 14 counts of tax evasion
. Vincent was convicted on five counts and was fined $50,000 for evading $36,739 in federal income taxes, and served 18 months in his second federal prison term, after he reported only 20% of his income from 1947 to 1950. Vivian was acquitted.
In his 1963 autobiography, Hallinan claimed that he was prosecuted by the IRS
for his political views, and that the government did not differentiate between tax avoidance (legal) and tax evasion. Also in his autobiography he argued for prison reform and in favor of treating drug addiction as a medical condition and providing clean maintenance drugs to addicts, and legalizing prostitution; and against laws forbidding private consensual sex, contraception and abortion, and against imperialism and American foreign policy.
Vincent Hallinan is the father of writer Conn M. Hallinan, San Francisco attorney Patrick Hallinan, and politician Terence Hallinan
, and grandfather of several, including attorneys Brendan Hallinan, Neil Hallinan, and Kate Hallinan.
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....
for the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1948)
The United States Progressive Party of 1948 was a left-wing political party that ran former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for president and U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho for vice president in 1948.-Foundation:...
in the 1952 election
United States presidential election, 1952
The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly. In the United States Senate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had become a national figure after chairing congressional...
.
Early life and education
Hallinan was born into a large immigrant Irish-Catholic family and raised in San Francisco and Petaluma, CaliforniaPetaluma, California
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...
. His father Patrick was said to be a member of the Irish National Invincibles
Irish National Invincibles
The Irish National Invincibles, usually known as "The Invincibles" were a radical splinter group of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and leading representatives of the Land League movement, both of Ireland and Britain...
, a revolutionary organization that, among other activities, was reputed to have assassinated the Lord Mayor of Dublin
Lord Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin is the honorific title of the Chairman of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent is Labour Party Councillor Andrew Montague. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the...
and his secretary in 1881, the infamous Phoenix Park Murders
Phoenix Park Murders
The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings on 6 May 1882 in the Phoenix Park in Dublin of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke. Cavendish was the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Burke was the Permanent Undersecretary, the most senior Irish civil servant...
, who then fled to the U.S. The elder Hallinan became a streetcar conductor in San Francisco, and was one of the leaders of the Great Front Strike of 1899-1900.
Trained by Jesuits in high school, Vincent passed the California Bar at the age of 22 after studies at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Career in law and politics
His early successes in court included personal injury actions against the powerful Market Street Railway CompanyMarket Street Railway Company
The Market Street Railway Company was a commercial streetcar and bus operator in San Francisco. The company was named after the famous Market Street of that city, which formed the core of its transportation network...
which ran most of the trolley lines on the streets of San Francisco and was a subsidiary of northern California rail interests. The rail company also owned the system whereby jurors' lists were kept and consulted by an appointed jury commissioner, in Hallinan's time an official of the railway, and he fought against this system for years before state law made the voter rolls the sole source of jurors.
Hallinan's years as a lawyer led to his selection in 1949, with a partner Roy McInnis, to defend Harry Bridges
Harry Bridges
Harry Bridges was an Australian-American union leader, in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union , a longshore and warehouse workers' union on the West Coast, Hawaii and Alaska which he helped form and led for over 40 years...
of the ILWU on perjury charges arising from accusations that he had once been a Communist but had denied it.
After the trial, Hallinan spent six months in McNeil Island prison for a contempt citation during the high-profile Bridges trial. He was subsequently disbarred
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
by the State Bar of California but fought his way back into the bar after his release from jail.
Hallinan ran for President of the United States
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....
in the 1952 election
United States presidential election, 1952
The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly. In the United States Senate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had become a national figure after chairing congressional...
, as the candidate for Henry Wallace
Henry Wallace
Henry or Harry Wallace may refer to:*Henry A. Wallace , U.S. Vice President 1941-1945, presidential candidate for the Progressive Party 1948**Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center...
's Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1948)
The United States Progressive Party of 1948 was a left-wing political party that ran former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for president and U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho for vice president in 1948.-Foundation:...
and was the third highest polling candidate in the election
United States presidential election, 1952
The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly. In the United States Senate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had become a national figure after chairing congressional...
.
He and his wife Vivian were indicted on 14 counts of tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
. Vincent was convicted on five counts and was fined $50,000 for evading $36,739 in federal income taxes, and served 18 months in his second federal prison term, after he reported only 20% of his income from 1947 to 1950. Vivian was acquitted.
In his 1963 autobiography, Hallinan claimed that he was prosecuted by the IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
for his political views, and that the government did not differentiate between tax avoidance (legal) and tax evasion. Also in his autobiography he argued for prison reform and in favor of treating drug addiction as a medical condition and providing clean maintenance drugs to addicts, and legalizing prostitution; and against laws forbidding private consensual sex, contraception and abortion, and against imperialism and American foreign policy.
Vincent Hallinan is the father of writer Conn M. Hallinan, San Francisco attorney Patrick Hallinan, and politician Terence Hallinan
Terence Hallinan
Terence Hallinan is an American attorney and politician from San Francisco, California. He is the second of six sons born to leftist attorney Vincent Hallinan and his wife Vivian....
, and grandfather of several, including attorneys Brendan Hallinan, Neil Hallinan, and Kate Hallinan.
Further reading
- Hallinan, Vivian, and Hallinan, Vincent. (1960). A clash of cultures; Some contrasts in American and Soviet morals and manners. San Francisco: American Russian Institute. Foreword by Holland Roberts. Illus. with photos. 72 pp.
External links
- Records of the Progressive Party. Archive maintained by University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections Department. 1940—1969. Accessed May 29, 2006.
- "Shoes on the Stand" (a partial account of Harry Bridges's trial). Time, New York, December 12, 1949.
- Photos of Vincent Hallinan (1953) and Vivian Hallinan (1962). San Francisco Sheriff's Department: Notable Jailbirds of San Francisco Photo Gallery. Accessed May 29, 2006.
- Crowd with C.B. Beanie Baldwin greeting Vincent Hallinan on his release from McNeil Island prison, 1952. University of Washington Libraries, Special Collection Division. Accessed May 29, 2006.
- Obituary of Vivian Hallinan from the San Francisco Examiner March 17, 1999. Read into the Congressional RecordCongressional RecordThe Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
by Congresswoman Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiNancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
. March 25, 1999. Accessed May 29, 2006. - Vincent Hallinan December 16, 1896 - October 2, 1992. Excerpted from the eulogy of Vincent Hallinan by his son, Conn M. Hallinan. Accessed May 29, 2006.
- Lambert, Bruce. "Vincent Hallinan Is Dead at 95; An Innovative Lawyer With Flair". New York Times, October 4, 1992.