Word: belli
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...Ruby or Belli? Sir-However one might feel about the fate of Jack Ruby [March 27] or the state of affairs in Dallas, it is hard not to be gratified by the much-deserved and long-deserved defeat of Melvin Belli. His notorious record of malpractice suits won on histrionics and little or no substantial evidence suggests that justice might be more fairly dispensed by a jury of Texans than by a jury of Californians. JAMES W. MACINNES Chicago...
Several lawyers found fault with Belli's style. In the opinion of St. Louis Lawyer Morris Shenker, "Belli violated almost every principle of a criminal defense. This was a case that called for humbleness. It required a serene, solemn and sober defense." Added Beverly Hills Lawyer Paul Caruso: "Wade was perfect in his role. Belli was too flashy. What Ruby needed was a defense lawyer who could have matched Wade's demeanor, perhaps a small-town Texas lawyer, old-fashioned and down to earth, with suspenders instead of a velvet collar." The professional verdict on Belli...
Anti-Everything. Apparently unbothered by the verbal brickbats, Belli went right on talking. He professed to be worried that Ruby might be murdered in jail. "Then they would make it appear a suicide and this vicious city would have him off their hands." He called Dallas "antiSemitic, antiscience, anti-American, anti-everything," and said he wanted to "get that stinking Dallas out of my nose...
...then came the final indignity: Jack Ruby, too, turned on his defender and fired him. Ruby's brother Hyman, a Chicago salesman, explained that Belli's opinions about Dallas, the jury, Judge Brown and D.A. Wade "are not shared by Jack or any member of his family...
...replace Belli and conduct the appeal, the family chose Houston's Percy Foreman, president of the National Association of Defense Lawyers, and one of the top criminal lawyers in Texas. Like Belli, Foreman charges high fees. A prosperous Texan charged with homicide once said that he could not decide whether to call in Foreman and spend the rest of his life in the poorhouse or take his chances on a moderate sentence and keep his estate. The Ruby family claims to be out of cash, but Foreman is optimistic: "There is some property they will try to sell." Foreman...