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Judge Michael A. Musmanno, sitting atop a downtown building to hold an injunction hearing concerning a street-car right of way, Pittsburgh, PA, 1938.
Credit: Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia
The son of Italian immigrants, Michael Musmanno worked as a coal loader before becoming a labor lawyer. In 1926 Musmanno won election to the state House of Representatives, then resigned to win election to the Allegheny County Court in 1931. In doing so, he became Pennsylvania's youngest judge.