John Pemberton Jr., executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1962 to 1970, died last week of congestive heart failure at age 90, reports The New York Times.

Under Mr. Pemberton’s leadership, the organization more than doubled its membership and adopted a more aggressive legal strategy, representing defendants in controversial civil-liberties and civil-rights cases rather than pursuing appeals on constitutional matters. Its clients during his tenure included Black Panthers, Vietnam draft resisters, Ku Klux Klan members, and the U.S. soldier accused of ordering the My Lai massacre.

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