View source for Albert F. Sabo

{{short description|American lawyer}}
'''Albert F. Sabo''' (December 21, 1920 – May 8, 2002) was an [[American law]]yer and [[judge]] of the [[Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia County]] [[Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas|Court of Common Pleas]]. He is best known for presiding over the [[Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Mumia Abu-Jamal|1982 murder trial]] of [[Mumia Abu-Jamal]].<ref name=NYTobit /> Sabo served as a judge from 1974 until his retirement in 1998.<ref name=Phillyobit>{{cite news|last=Pray|first=Rusty|title=Albert F. Sabo, 81, Abu-Jamal trial judge|url=http://articles.philly.com/2002-05-10/news/25347214_1_albert-f-sabo-judge-sabo-s-judge-sabo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503102150/http://articles.philly.com/2002-05-10/news/25347214_1_albert-f-sabo-judge-sabo-s-judge-sabo|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 3, 2012|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=May 10, 2002|page=B7}}</ref>
Born in [[Philadelphia]] in a family with [[Slovaks|Slovak]] origins, Sabo grew up in the [[Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Northern Liberties]] neighborhood and graduated from [[Roman Catholic High School (Philadelphia)|Roman Catholic High School]] in 1938.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zoroya |first=Gregg |date=1995-09-13 |title=Journalist's Death Sentence Has People Judging the Judge |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-13-ls-45239-story.html |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> He earned two degrees from the [[University of Pennsylvania]]: a bachelor's degree in economics from the [[Wharton School]] in 1942 and a law degree from the [[University of Pennsylvania Law School]] in 1948. Sabo was a [[World War II]] veteran and part of the [[United States Army Air Forces]].<ref name=Phillyobit />
Sabo served as county undersheriff for 16 years before being elected to the bench. For 15 years while on the bench, Sabo exclusively heard [[homicide]] cases.<ref name=NYTobit /> Sabo presided over 31 cases that resulted in the imposition of the [[Capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]], which was reported in 1992 by ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' to be the most in the state.<ref name=NYTobit /> In 1995, in the time before Abu-Jamal was scheduled to be executed, Sabo had 24-hour security due to angry, offensive faxes and calls directed to him.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lounsberry|first=Emilie|title=Abu-jamal Case Puts Focus On Sabo - Again|url=http://articles.philly.com/1995-07-18/news/25676352_1_judge-albert-f-sabo-abu-jamal-case-mumia-abu-jamal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503102206/http://articles.philly.com/1995-07-18/news/25676352_1_judge-albert-f-sabo-abu-jamal-case-mumia-abu-jamal|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 3, 2012|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=July 18, 1995|accessdate=April 22, 2011}}</ref> On September 15, 1995, Sabo denied Abu-Jamal a retrial.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kaufman|first=Marc|title=Sabo Denies Retrial For Abu-jamal|url=http://articles.philly.com/1995-09-16/news/25717413_1_judge-albert-f-sabo-mumia-abu-jamal-abu-jamal-shot-faulkner|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503102216/http://articles.philly.com/1995-09-16/news/25717413_1_judge-albert-f-sabo-mumia-abu-jamal-abu-jamal-shot-faulkner|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 3, 2012|accessdate=April 22, 2011|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=September 16, 1995|author2=Quinones Miller, Karen E.|author3=Cass Julia}}</ref>
In 2000, the stenographer at the Abu-Jamal trial, Terri Maurer-Carter, signed an affidavit stating that during the trial she overheard the judge saying of the defendant, "Yeah and I'm gonna help 'em fry the nigger."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20111211_Why_freedom_makes_even_more_sense_now_.html|title = Why freedom for Abu-Jamal makes even more sense now| date=11 December 2011 }}</ref>
Sabo died in 2002 of [[heart failure]].<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite news | title = Albert F. Sabo, 81, Judge in Murder Trials| work = New York Times| date = May 13, 2002| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/13/us/albert-f-sabo-81-judge-in-murder-trials.html}}</ref> At the time of his death, he was living in the [[Mount Airy, Philadelphia|Mount Airy]] neighborhood of Philadelphia.<ref name=Phillyobit />
==References==
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[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:Mumia Abu-Jamal]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Wharton School alumni]]
[[Category:Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas]]
[[Category:American people of Slovak descent]]