Luther West

Luther Charles West, 82, of Severna Park, died of pneumonia and complications from surgery Aug. 31 at Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Mr. West was born April 6, 1924, in Birmingham, Ala., where he was reared and graduated from Birmingham Southern College. He earned a law degree from George Washington University Law School.

He served in the Army as a Judge Advocate General for 18 years, with tours of duty including Korea.

Subsequently he worked for the State's Attorney's Office in Baltimore City for three years before entering private practice, eventually retiring in 2001.

During his career in law, he wrote an influential law review article in 1970, and in 1977 he authored, They Call It Justice: Command Influence and the Court Martial System, using historical and legal analysis as well as his own experiences as a JAG lawyer to urge fundamental change in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He also studied and spoke widely on war crimes in Vietnam, eventually writing an article on the Mylai Massacre and the Calley and Medina cases.

Upon leaving the military, he advised soldiers who had become disaffected with the Vietnam War on their rights as conscientious objectors, winning honorable discharges for many. In his private practice, he specialized in criminal cases involving the death penalty. He brought countless employment discrimination cases, including several sizeable class actions. Toward the end of his career, he developed a specialty in civil consumer fraud cases.

He engaged in extensive work outside the confines of his practice as well, helping to form a Citizen's Tribunal Against War Crimes and working as an advisor and public speaker for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War during the 1960s. During the 1970s, he helped create and then direct a system of Hostels and safe homes for runaway and transient children.

His interests included waterpainting, local theatre and film, books and magazines, Democratic Party politics, dining in Baltimore City, weekends on the Eastern Shore and living on the Severn River.

He was the husband of the late Doris Claire Harper West, his first wife; father of the late Anita West, who died in 2001; and grandfather of the late William West. Surviving are his second wife, Lelia Harris, whom he married in 1975; three children, Katherine West Schroeder of Davis, Calif., Derrick Harper West of Santa Rosa, Calif., and Robin Lee West of Baltimore; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

A Memorial Service will be held at noon on Saturday at First Unitarian Church, at Franklin and Charles Streets in Baltimore. Burial is private. Arrangements are by Barranco and Sons Severna Park Funeral Home, Severna Park.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to George Washington University Law School Scholarship Fund, Office of Law Alumni Relations, 2000 H. St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 10052. Online condolences can be made to www.barrancofuneralhome.com.

As published in "The Capital Newspaper" Annapolis, MD 09/03/2006