Emanuel "Manny" Bloch, along with his father Alexander, was the defense attorney for the Rosenbergs. He was known in the legal community as a defender of leftist sympathizers, most recently having defended the leader of the Communist party of Pittsburgh and the Trenton Six.
During the course of the trial and the many appeals Bloch grew very close to the Rosenbergs and their children. The relationship between Bloch and the Rosenbergs went further than attorney and client. Bloch cast aside his other caseload to focus entirely upon the Rosenbergs. His efforts in the final frantic days to spare his clients from execution were nothing short of heroic. Following the executions, Bloch delivered the eulogy at their funeral and served as guardian for the two Rosenberg sons.
The Rosenberg case would be Bloch's most infamous as well as his last. In early 1954 Bloch was found dead in his apartment, dead of a heart attack at age 52. According to his father, Emanuel Bloch was also a victim of the Rosenberg case.