KUSEL, RUDOLPH:
German jurist and politician; born May 9, 1809, in Carlsruhe; died there Jan. 26, 1890. He studied law in Heidelberg and Munich, and in 1832 was admitted to the bar in Baden. From 1834 he practised law at Rastatt, Bruchsal, and Carlsruhe, and was reputed one of the keenest of jurists. In 1849 he successfully defended the men charged with participation in the revolution at Baden. In 1859-87 he acted as attorney-general. After the abrogation of the Concordat in 1860 he was elected deputy from the city of Carlsruhe to the Second Chamber of the Landstände in Baden (1861), being the first Jew to be thus honored.
Kusel took a prominent part in the legislation concerning the emancipation of the Jews (1862), the new judicial constitution (1864), and schools (1867), and served on the more important committees of the House, particularly those pertaining to judiciary legislation. He belonged to the German National-Liberal party.
