Richard Tillotson was born in 1906 in Oxford, Ohio. He studied law at Yale University and graduated cum laude in 1929. At Yale he was an active member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, graduating at the top of his class, and served as president of his class during his senior year. During college he also worked for two summers on the New Haven Railroad
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After graduation, Tillotson established a law practice in New Haven. He became a prominent civil rights attorney during the 1930s and 1940s, defending individuals accused of crimes or subjected to prejudicial treatment by state or federal agencies. His most famous case was representing three black men accused of raping two white women in Cleveland, Ohio.
All three were eventually acquitted by a jury despite overwhelming evidence of their guilt. Richard Tillotson died on December 8, 1995.