Lewis was born on September 8, 1884 in
New York City, New York, the son of Hill C. Lewis and Rose Baumgarten. Lewis attended Public School No. 39,
DeWitt Clinton High School, and the
New York Law School. He graduated from the latter school with honors in 1906, and was admitted to the bar that year. He was also a volunteer instructor for the Civil Service School of the Marcy Association, which gave free instruction to all men in the district to prepare for civil service examination, and an editorial writer for the
Manhattan and Bronx Advocate, which was edited by the blind poet Edward Doyle. He took up matters with the Public Service Commission and other departments on different occasions with regards to improving local conditions. In 1911, Lewis unsuccessfully ran for the
New York State Assembly as a
Democrat in the
New York County 23rd District, losing the election to
Republican Sidney C. Crane. He won an election to the Assembly over Crane in 1912 and served in the Assembly in
1913. In 1927, he was elected to the Municipal Court as a Democrat. He wasn't renominated by the Democratic Party in 1937, and while he ran independently with support from a number of civic groups he lost the election. He briefly served on the Domestic Relations bench after being appointed to that court by Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia. He then taught ethics at New York Law School, and continued to practice law until the age of 90. == References ==