Biography
Simon Silverman (also known as Sid Taylor) was a Connecticut Communist Party organizer prosecuted in the New Haven Smith Act case. A jury convicted him on March 29, 1956. He remained free on bail while appealing, and the Second Circuit reversed the conviction and dismissed the indictment on September 11, 1957. Arrested May 29, 1954 in the Connecticut Smith Act roundup. On June 16, 1954, he remained in New Haven County Jail because he could not raise bail; the previous day his bail had been reduced from $40,000 to $15,000. He posted $15,000 bail and was released on June 28, 1954. His exact jail admission date remains unverified.
Documented pretrial detention
Arrested May 29, 1954 in the Connecticut Smith Act roundup. On June 16, 1954, he remained in New Haven County Jail because he could not raise bail; the previous day his bail had been reduced from $40,000 to $15,000. He posted $15,000 bail and was released on June 28, 1954. His exact jail admission date remains unverified.
Sources: Manchester Evening Herald, June 16, 1954, page 14, “State Reds Unable To Raise Cut Bail”; United States v. Silverman, February 23, 1955, 129 F. Supp. 496, 514; UConn Archives, original seven-defendant leaflet (May 29 arrest date and identities).
Manchester Evening Herald, June 29, 1954: “Silverman on Bail” reports his release the previous day.
The June 16, 1954 Manchester Evening Herald report identifies Judge Robert P. Anderson as the judge who reduced the original seven New Haven defendants’ bail the preceding day, over the objection of Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis J. McNamara. These are specifically the bail-hearing roles, not newly established prison-admission or release dates. The DOJ United States Attorneys Bulletin of April 13, 1956 identifies the Connecticut prosecution staff as Simon Cohen, Francis J. McNamara, William F. O’Donnell and John C. Keeney. The already recorded jail stay and case disposition remain unchanged. Bail-hearing source: https://manchesterhistory.org/News/Manchester%20Evening%20Hearld_1954-06-16.pdf#page=8
The Manchester Evening Herald’s June 4, 1954 front page reports that Judge Robert P. Anderson read the Connecticut Seven’s original Smith Act indictment from the bench. It identifies this defendant among the seven arrested the previous Saturday. This supplies the judge for the original indictment stage, not necessarily the later trial. The supplied file is labeled June 3 but its final facing page is explicitly dated June 4; the source date is taken from that original page. The report’s maximum five-year penalty is not an imposed sentence, and bond amounts do not establish a completed physical release. Existing later outcomes and custody limits remain unchanged.
Manchester Evening Herald, June 4, 1954 front page, supplied PDF page 10 (filename June 3).
