Harvey A. Silverglate (born May 10, 1942) is an attorney based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the co-founder, with Alan Charles Kors, of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), for which he also serves as the current Chairman of the Board of Directors.[1]
He holds degrees from Princeton University ('64) and Harvard Law School ('67). He is a practicing attorney, specializing in civil liberties litigation, criminal defense, academic freedom, and students' rights cases. He is Of Counsel to the Boston-based law firm Zalkind, Rodriguez, Lunt & Duncan LLP.
In addition to his law practice, Silverglate is also a journalist and writer. He is a regular columnist for the Boston Phoenix, writing on politics, law, and civil liberties.[2] He writes 'The Free for All' blog for the Phoenix with Wendy Kaminer.[3] In addition to his regular column and blog, he also has written columns and op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the National Law Journal, Reason magazine, and other publications.[4] He is the author of the book Three Felonies a Day, which details the extension of vague federal criminal laws into daily conduct that would not be readily seen as criminal.
Silverglate is a member of the board of the Massachuetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He has also taught at Harvard Law School, the University of Massachusetts College III (in Boston), and at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
Silverglate was a candidate in the 2009 Harvard Board of Overseers elections. After collecting 315 signatures from Harvard alumni, he was nominated as a petition candidate in early February 2009. Harvey's platform [5] focused on reforming the student disciplinary board, eliminating speech codes, and restoring the student voice in university outreach efforts. His campaign had been covered in The Boston Globe [6] and the Harvard Law Record,[7] and he made an appearance on Greater Boston with Emily Rooney.[8] Election results were announced at commencement, June 4, 2009, and Silverglate finished in eighth place, with 11,700 votes, 1600 short of winning a seat.[9]
Silverglate is married to the portrait photographer Elsa Dorfman. Their son Isaac lives in New York City.