Carl E. Person | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1936-07-20)July 20, 1936 (age 89) |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Political party | Libertarian Reform |
Carl E. Person (pronounced /ˈpir sən/) (born July 20, 1936) is an Americanattorney and politician. He founded the Paralegal Institute in the early 1970s and played a pivotal role in creating theparalegal field. He has also run unsuccessfully for various political offices. He was a candidate for the2012 presidential nomination of theLibertarian Party, was theReform Party nominee forMayor of New York City in2013, was the Libertarian nominee forNew York State Attorney General in2010 and was the Libertarian nominee for New York State Attorney General again in2014.
Person was born inManhattan and has lived inNew York State most of his life with the exception of 2 years when his family lived inNebraska and his 3 years of service in theU.S. Army. Person dropped out of Northport High School after his sophomore year,[1] and joined the U.S. Army for a 3-year enlistment. His service included two years onOkinawa as a ship to shore high speed radio operator, to send and receiveMorse code. Despite his lack of a high school diploma, Person is a graduate ofLong Island University andHarvard Law School.[2]
From 1962 to 1968, Person worked as an associate attorney for three New York corporate law firms, including Mudge, Stern, Baldwin & Todd, which acceptedRichard M. Nixon as a partner in 1962, shortly after Nixon lost his first bid for the presidency toJohn F. Kennedy.In 1968, Person started his own law practice, and has been an individual practitioner ever since. Person's law practice from the start has focused on litigation in federal and state courts. His first case, anantitrust action, was brought againstGeneral Motors,Ford Motor Company,Chrysler Corporation and others, and lasted 18 years. Person's litigation experience includes civil rights, antitrust, mortgageforeclosure defense,securities fraud, copyright, trademark, age discrimination, price discrimination, employment termination, franchise termination, and other cases in which individuals and/or small businesses have claims against major corporations or government agencies.
In 1972 Person founded the Paralegal Institute and was instrumental in creating theparalegal field.[3]
Person was an early proponent of advertising for lawyers.[4] In the late 1970s, he received media attention for his advocacy of a private court system which would handle civil disputes.[5][6]
In 1970, Person commenced his litigation practice by filing an antitrust action on behalf of a group of National Auto Brokers Corp. against General Motors, Ford and Chrysler and 60 other defendants. To help him afford the cost of going up against the leading corporations in America, Person founded the Paralegal Institute in 1972.
Person spent more than 20 years in the practice of intellectual property law. Thirty years after the 1962doo-wop hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was at the top of the charts, Person recaptured the song's copyright for members of the groupThe Teenagers in a landmark case.[7][8] Person represented playwrightMark Dunn in a case againstParamount Pictures alleging thatThe Truman Show was essentially similar toFrank's Life, which appeared in a New York theatre several years before.[9][10] In another case, Thee v. Parker Brothers, Inc., Eastern District of New York, Index No. 75–1554, commenced about 15 years after the game "Artifax" was first submitted toParker Brothers by artist Christian Thee, Person obtained a jury verdict for Thee holding that he had been allegedly defrauded by Parker Brothers' publication of the game "Masterpiece".[11][12]
WhenRalph Anspach invented a game he called "Anti-Monopoly", Parker Brothers charged that it infringed on their copyright and trademark for their game Monopoly, and a lower court agreed. All of Anspach's inventory of his game was dumped in a Minnesota landfill pursuant to court order. Person obtained a reversal in theNinth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this victory when it deniedcertiorari.[13][14]
Person has functioned as aprivate attorney general in several cases, enforcing civil rights and antitrust laws on behalf of individuals and small businesses.
Person was the Libertarian nominee forNew York State Attorney General in2010.[citation needed] He received 36,488 official votes and finished third out of four candidates on the ballot in that race.[15]
Person was one of several candidates seeking theLibertarian Party'snomination for the2012 presidential election.[16] On the first ballot, which was won by formerNew Mexico GovernorGary Johnson, Person received 3 votes (0.5%)[17]
Person was theReform Party nominee forMayor of New York City in the2013 election.[18] He came twelfth out of fifteen candidates with 306 votes.
He was the Libertarian nominee for New York State Attorney General in the2014 election.[19]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Eric Schneiderman | 2,478,659 | 55.78% | ||
| Republican | Dan Donovan | 1,910,361 | 43.20% | ||
| Libertarian | Carl Person | 36,488 | 0.82% | ||
| Freedom | Ramon J. Jimenez | 18,021 | 0.41% | ||
| Total votes | 4,443,529 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bill de Blasio | 753,039 | 69.23% | +25.3% | |
| Working Families | Bill de Blasio | 42,640 | 3.92% | +1.5% | |
| Total | Bill de Blasio | 795,679 | 73.15% | +26.9% | |
| Republican | Joe Lhota | 236,212 | 21.72% | −16.0% | |
| Conservative | Joe Lhota | 24,888 | 2.29% | +0.7% | |
| Taxes 2 High | Joe Lhota | 2,500 | 0.23% | N/A | |
| Students First | Joe Lhota | 820 | 0.08% | N/A | |
| Total | Joe Lhota | 264,420 | 24.31% | −26.4% | |
| Independence | Adolfo Carrion | 8,675 | 0.80% | −12.2% | |
| Green | Anthony Gronowicz | 4,983 | 0.46% | −0.3% | |
| Jobs & Education | Jack Hidary | 2,922 | 0.27% | N/A | |
| Common Sense | Jack Hidary | 718 | 0.07% | N/A | |
| Total | Jack Hidary | 3,640 | 0.33% | N/A | |
| Rent Is Too Damn High | Jimmy McMillan | 1,990 | 0.18% | 0.0% | |
| School Choice | Erick Salgado | 1,946 | 0.18% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Michael Sanchez | 1,746 | 0.16% | +0.1% | |
| Socialist Workers | Dan Fein | 758 | 0.07% | 0.0% | |
| Tax Wall Street | Randy Credico | 690 | 0.06% | N/A | |
| Freedom Party | Michael K. Greys | 575 | 0.05% | N/A | |
| Reform | Carl Person | 306 | 0.03% | N/A | |
| Affordable Tomorrow | Joseph Melaragno | 289 | 0.03% | N/A | |
| War Veterans | Sam Sloan | 166 | 0.02% | ||
| Flourish Every Person | Michael J. Dilger | 55 | 0.01% | N/A | |
| Write-in | 1,792 | 0.16% | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 1,087,710 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democraticgain fromIndependent | Swing | 53.2% | |||
| Attorney General election in New York, 2014[22] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Democratic | Eric T. Schneiderman | 1,790,006 | 45.6% | ||
| Working Families | Eric T. Schneiderman | 169,037 | 4.3% | ||
| Independence/ Women's Equality | Eric T. Schneiderman | 110,913 | 2.8% | ||
| Total | Eric T. Schneiderman (incumbent) | 2,069,956 | 52.7% | ||
| Republican | John P. Cahill | 1,261,641 | 32.1% | ||
| Conservative/ Stop-Common-Core | John P. Cahill | 277,349 | 7.1% | ||
| Total | John P. Cahill | 1,538,990 | 39.2% | ||
| Green | Ramon Jimenez | 80,813 | 2.1% | ||
| Libertarian | Carl E. Person | 24,746 | 0.6% | ||
| Blank | 207,771 | 5.3% | |||
| Void | 1,683 | 0.04% | |||
| Totals | 3,924,990 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic Hold | |||||