Another one of the greats passed away today -- Mel Black. He was a great guy and a wonderful criminal defense lawyer (for almost 60 years!) That's him below with his client after a big NG. He always had time to talk to you about a case or a problem. And I loved that he recently took a year on a ship around the world. I'll miss him.
8 comments:
Mel was a terrific lawyer and a wonderful guy. I had the pleasure of trying several cases with him. Most memorable was a federal bribery case in Key West before Judge King. Mel represented then Mayor Dennis Wardlow and I represented then attorney John Bigler. The acquittals in that case were largely due to Mel’s great lawyering. May he rest in peace.
He didn't just take a ship around the world, he and his wife studied navigation and sailed themselves on their sailboat to many exotic places spending many blissful months together. What an adventure, what memories, what a loss to his wife and family.
Mel was a great lawyer but more importantly an amazingly friendly and decent person. He was always willing to spend time talking and making sure that the battle (I had many against him) were all in perspective. So sorry to hear this news. Marty Goldberg
After the verdict:
“And after the trial, Janet Reno received a letter from the jury. The jurors in the Fijnje case wanted Ms. Reno to know why her office had failed to make a convincing case. They wrote: "It is our hope that this case will lay the foundation upon which a set of policies and guidelines are built so that when cases of abuse, especially child abuse, are alleged, the programs in place will allow for appropriate questioning and investigation by the police, physicians and child psychologists so as to drastically reduce the chances of conflicting testimony and charges of contamination that can and will raise reasonable doubt."
And Miami developed one of the premier child sex abuse investigative and treatment programs in the country.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/terror/cases/fijnjesummary.html
It's just awful all the legal legends we have lost over the last decade.
I owe my paralegal career to him as he took me on as a receptionist while at school and had such patience in teaching me about trial prep, writing, and research! he was amazing and he truly cared about his colleagues, staff and clients. He will be missed!
I owe my Paralegal career to Mel! He took me on as his receptionist while at school and he had such patience and with his usual kind demeanor taught me everything I know and use to this day! He truly cared about his colleagues, staff and the clients and their families! He will be sorely missed!
I knew Mel through John Bigler as I had been John's paralegal for years. Mel was (to me) a straight up guy. He always had time and a good word for everyone.
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