William E. Rittenberg is a well known civil rights lawyer with a history of contesting the constitutionality of laws passed by the Louisiana state government. For the past twenty years, he has been instrumental in defeating every attempt to restrict women's rights to abortion in the state. He has also won cases protecting the rights of children, minorities, street musicians, marijuana farmers, massage parlors, "head shops," political groups, school teachers, and even some middle-aged white men.Mr. Rittenberg is a charter member of the NORML Legal Committee, and has assisted in the planning for the annual NORML Key West Legal Seminar. He has served as Judge Ad Hoc for the Juvenile Court for the Parish of New Orleans. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.Mr. Rittenberg is a 1970 graduate of Tulane Law School, and has been practicing law in Louisiana for over twenty-five years. He has additionally graduated from the National College of Advocacy, Hastings Law School (1971), and is a 1976 Graduate Fellow of the Loyola Institute of Politics.