Arthur L Berney

1930 - 2020
Arthur L. Berney died at his home in Cambridge, MA on March 31, 2020. He was born in Newark, NJ on August 12, 1930. He was a professor emeritus at Boston College Law School teaching from 1964 through 2001 and was known as a constitutional, communications and national security law expert. He graduated from the University of Virginia (B.A., 1961; J.D., 1958); he served in Germany with the U.S. Army, 1953 - 1955, was a Ford Foundation fellow at Harvard Law School, 1964 and a Ford Foundation consultant in New Delhi, India 1968–70 assisting the Indian government with establishing a legal aid society. In 1987 he was appointed to the Commission of the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. As a civil rights litigator, he made his mark as an influential member of the team representing the Loving family in the landmark 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v Virginia that resulted in the striking down of laws banning interracial marriage. The due process rationale he championed in the Loving brief has provided the basis for the recognition of marriage equality for same-sex couples. A passionate and outspoken advocate for civil and human rights, his first book Legal Problems of the Poor, 1976 was a trailblazing effort that helped establish the field of poverty law. He also served many years on the Steering Committee of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. He became increasingly concerned with nuclear proliferation and was coauthor of National Security Law,1997 a leading text on the subject. In 2002, he filed an amicus brief in support of Goodridge, the landmark MA Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. A lover of classical music, art and world travel, he took up the cello and portrait painting, studying in Paris. He was married to his beloved wife Alice for over 60 years, who predeceased him. He will be missed by his two sons, Larry and Ron Berney, three grandchildren, Arielle, Greg, Jeremy and two great grandchildren, Juno and Kai.