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Jack Lewis: An Undertaker's Gamble, James Furgol, Rachel Granfield

Legal History Publications

On December 15, 1933, the case of Jack Lewis, Inc. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore concluded with a denial of certiorari from the United States Supreme Court. After over a year and a half of litigation, Jack Lewis, Inc. had to close the shutters on their newly acquired funeral parlor at 1804 Eutaw Place, in the Jewish community of Mount Royal.

The company had its roots in the “downtown” Eastern European Jewish neighborhood while Eutaw Place was home to a number of “uptown” German Jews who were integrated with wealthy gentiles. Not only did the Supreme Court’s decision …