Learned Hand was one of the most respected American judges of the 20th Century. Born into a family of lawyers and having lost his father at an early age, he was brought up by his mother who pressurized him to take up law like his father. He passed out of Harvard Law School, but found his profession very boring. He eventually became a district judge in New York City. He associated with intellectuals and reformers like Herbert Croly and Walter Lippmann. He supported Democrat Theodore Roosevelt, although he was appointed by a Republic President as a federal judge. President Calvin Coolidge appointed him to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and he rose to become its chief Judge. The judge’s greatest works lie in the field of civil liberties. His ruling in The Masses and the Coplon cases are, but two instances of his work. Possessed with an admirable courage of conviction, he ruled against the state in a bid to protect the fundamental rights of the American citizens. He advocated the revisiting of old laws that were no longer reliable and also contributed to study of torts. He was wary of Stalinism, but was warier of McCarthyism. He never served on the Supreme Court, but is considered a legend for his pragmatic approach.