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Harvey A. Silverglate

Harvey A. Silverglate

Civil Liberties Advocate — field_542d8190101fc

Harvey A. Silverglate, an advocate for civil liberties since the 1960s, is an attorney, writer, and non-profit activist. Currently practicing law with the Boston firm Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP, Silverglate specializes in criminal defense, civil liberties, and academic freedom/student rights cases. In addition to his legal work, Silverglate has led a parallel writing career as newspaper columnist and book author. Silverglate’s career as legal practitioner, spanning some four decades, has ranged widely and has included drug prosecutions, draft and riot cases in the '60s and '70s, bank and securities fraud, bribery and extortion, espionage, tax evasion, police misconduct, murder and manslaughter, habeas corpus proceedings, money laundering, and desertion (tried at a court martial). In one of his first cases, he served as trial counsel for students charged with taking over University Hall at Harvard during an anti-war demonstration in 1969. He has since done substantial defense against charges of business crime without becoming labeled a “white collar” (much less a “white shoe”) lawyer. He has represented alleged illicit drug dealers without becoming a “drug lawyer.” He has represented several alleged “organized crime figures” without being deemed a “mob lawyer.” Silverglate’s breadth of experience has given him perspective on the methods and techniques employed by police and prosecutors, and especially on the federal level, over the course of decades. Silverglate has handled cases in both state and federal courts, in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the country, on both the trial and appellate levels. He has represented an enormously diverse group of clients in the white collar arena, including Michael Milken, Leona Helmsley, Theodore Anzalone (in two Boston political corruption/money laundering federal cases resulting in two acquittals), and Louis C. Ostrer (in a long-running battle with a Department of Justice intent on forcing him to become a government witness), among many others.

Viewpoints

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July 27, 2026
Kerby Anderson

Teen Takeovers

Young people are rampaging in cities across this country, and Heather Mac Donald has written about why this is taking place and what we can do to stop it. She begins by documenting what happened when...

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July 24, 2026
Penna Dexter

It’s Not AI

A Washington Post article received lots of attention last week. It addresses the mismatch created when recruiters can’t find workers to fill jobs and recent college graduates can’t find entry-level jo...

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July 24, 2026
Kerby Anderson

Quantum Computing

Advanced quantum computing is still in the future, but what happens when Q-Day arrives? This is the day that powerful quantum computers can break public-key cryptography that protects our digital worl...

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Support the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act

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FACE Act Repeal Act of 2025
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FACE Act Repeal Act of 2025

Pro-lifers have been abused under the FACE Act for long enough.

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Contact Congress About the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2025

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