Pearl Hart
Lawyer
A Chicago public defender who dedicated her career to defending the rights of minorities, the oppressed, and to those who could not defend themselves.
After graduation from John Marshall Law School, she became one of the first female criminal attorneys in Chicago.
Defending immigrants, she got the Supreme Court to agree with her on restrictions to government questioning; and she defended gays and lesbians in hundreds of cases of entrapment.
She was born in Traverse City, Michigan as the youngest of five daughters born to David and Rebecca Harchovsky, Russian-Jewish immigrants.
She was close friend of a fellow minority rights activist, Studs Terkel.