Francis Lee Bailey Jr., commonly referred to as
F. Lee Bailey, (born June 10, 1933) is a former attorney in Massachusetts and Florida. He was a criminal defense lawyer who served as the lawyer in the
Sam SheppardDr. Samuel Holmes Sheppard was an American osteopathic physician and neurosurgeon, who was involved in an infamous and controversial murder trial. He was convicted of the murder of his pregnant wife, Marilyn Reese Sheppard, in 1954, while residing in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Sheppard served...
re-trial. He was also the supervisory attorney over attorney
Mark J. KadishMark J. Kadish is an American judge, professor, attorney, author, and legal commentator. He received his law degree from New York University in 1967.-Career:...
in the court martial of Captain
Ernest MedinaErnest Lou Medina is a former captain of infantry in the United States Army. He served during the Vietnam War and was acquitted in a court-martial of war crimes charges in 1971...
for the
My Lai MassacreThe My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
, among other high profile trials, and was one of the lawyers for the defense in the
O. J. Simpson murder caseThe O. J. Simpson murder case was a criminal trial held in Los Angeles County, California Superior Court from January 29 to October 3, 1995. Former American football star and actor O. J...
. He has also had a number of visible defeats, legal controversies, and personal trouble with the law, and was
disbarredDisbarment is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking his or her law license or admission to practice law...
for misconduct while defending his client Claude DuBoc. In spite of his difficulties, he still has a reputation for being a highly successful defense attorney, and was the Chairman and CEO of IMPAC, Integrated Control Systems, Inc., a Florida corporation.
Education and military service
Bailey was born in
Waltham, MassachusettsWaltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...
. He went to
Cardigan Mountain SchoolCardigan Mountain School is a boys-only independent boarding school located on 62 Alumni Drive, Canaan, New Hampshire, USA. It was founded in 1945 on land provided by Dartmouth College....
and then
Kimball Union AcademyKimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States...
, graduating in the class of 1950. Bailey studied at
Harvard CollegeHarvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, but dropped out in 1952 to join the
United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. Bailey received his aviator wings in 1954. He served as a jet fighter pilot and a legal officer. He was discharged in 1956. Bailey received his LL.B. from
Boston UniversityBoston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, where he was ranked first in his graduating class in 1960.
Sam Sheppard
In 1954, Dr.
Sam SheppardDr. Samuel Holmes Sheppard was an American osteopathic physician and neurosurgeon, who was involved in an infamous and controversial murder trial. He was convicted of the murder of his pregnant wife, Marilyn Reese Sheppard, in 1954, while residing in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Sheppard served...
was found guilty in the murder of his wife Marilyn. The case was believed to be the inspiration for the
Fugitive television seriesThe Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
(1963–1967) and the
1993 movieThe Fugitive is a 1993 American thriller film based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The film was one of the few movies associated with a television series to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best...
. Bailey, at the time a resident of Rocky River, Ohio, was hired by Sheppard's brother Stephen to help in his brother's appeal. In 1966, Bailey successfully argued before the
U.S. Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
that Sheppard had been denied due process, winning a re-trial. A not-guilty verdict followed. This case established Bailey's reputation as a skilled defense attorney and was the first of many high-profile cases.
"Boston Strangler"
While defendant
Albert DeSalvoAlbert Henry DeSalvo was a criminal in Boston, Massachusetts who confessed to being the "Boston Strangler", the murderer of 13 women in the Boston area. DeSalvo was not imprisoned for these murders, however, but for a series of rapes...
was in jail for the "Green Man" sexual assaults, he confessed his guilt in the "
Boston StranglerThe Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders were not committed by one person.-First Stage...
" murders to Bailey. DeSalvo was found guilty of the assaults but was never tried for the stranglings.
Dr. Carl A. Coppolino
Dr. Coppolino was accused of murdering his wife, Dr. Carmela Coppolino (August 28, 1965), and his neighbor Lt. Col. William Farber (July 30, 1963). The prosecution claimed that Coppolino injected his victims with a
curareCurare is a common name for various arrow poisons originating from South America. The three main types of curare are:* tubocurare...
-like substance called succinylcholine chloride, which at the time was undetectable due to limited forensic technology. Bailey, who had just won Sam Sheppard an acquittal in November 1966, successfully defended Coppolino in the New Jersey case over the death of Lt. Col. William Farber in December 1966. However, Coppolino was convicted of murdering his wife in Florida. He was paroled after serving 12 years of his sentence.
Ernest Medina
Bailey successfully defended U.S. Army Captain
Ernest MedinaErnest Lou Medina is a former captain of infantry in the United States Army. He served during the Vietnam War and was acquitted in a court-martial of war crimes charges in 1971...
in his 1971
court-martialA court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
for responsibility in the My Lai incident during the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Patty Hearst
The case of
Patty HearstPatricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
, a newspaper heiress who had committed armed bank robberies after being kidnapped by the
Symbionese Liberation ArmyThe Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
(SLA), was one of Bailey's defeats. Patty Hearst describes his closing argument in her autobiography as "disjointed" and that she suspected he had been drinking. During his closing argument, Bailey spilled a glass of water on his pants.
O.J. Simpson
Bailey joined the
O. J. SimpsonOrenthal James "O. J." Simpson , nicknamed "The Juice", is a retired American collegiate and professional football player, football broadcaster, and actor...
defense team just before the preliminary hearing. Bailey held numerous press conferences to discuss the progress of the case. In a press conference prior to his cross-examination of
Mark FuhrmanMark Fuhrman is a former detective of the Los Angeles Police Department , known for his part in the investigation of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and his subsequent felony conviction for perjury...
, Bailey said, "any lawyer in his right mind who would not be looking forward to cross-examining Mark Fuhrman is an idiot." His famous cross-examination of Fuhrman is considered by many to be the key to Simpson's acquittal. In front of a jury composed predominantly of people of color, Bailey got the detective to claim he never used the word "nigger" to describe blacks at any time during the previous 10 years, a claim the defense team easily found evidence to refute. Ultimately, the statement that Bailey drew from the detective forced Fuhrman to plead the fifth in his next courtroom appearance, thereby undermining his credibility with the jury and the otherwise devastating evidence he allegedly found. Bailey also attracted minor attention for keeping a silver flask on the defense table, which fellow defense attorney
Robert KardashianRobert George Kardashian was an American attorney and businessman. He gained national recognition as O. J. Simpson's friend and defense attorney during the latter's 1995 murder trial...
claimed contained only coffee.
William & Chantal McCorkle
Chantal McCorkleChantal Watts McCorkle is a British citizen. Along with William J. McCorkle , her American husband, she was tried and convicted in 1998 in Florida for her part in a financial fraud. The McCorkles sold kits purporting to show buyers how to get rich by buying property in foreclosures and...
(born 1968,
SloughSlough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
citizen. Along with
WilliamWilliam Joseph McCorkle is an American businessman, former real estate guru and former owner of William McCorkle Seminars. In the 1990s he and his wife Chantal created a number of late-night television infomercials, selling materials which purported to teach people how to make money buying...
, her American husband, she was tried and convicted in 1998 in
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for her part in a financial fraud. The McCorkles sold kits purporting to show buyers how to get rich by buying property in foreclosures and government auctions. They advertised on
infomercialInfomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s; among the grounds for their conviction was their representation in the infomercials that they owned luxury automobiles and airplanes (actually rented for the commercials), and their use of purported testimonials from satisfied customers, who were actually paid actors.
She, represented by Mark Horwitz, and her husband, represented by Bailey, were each originally sentenced to over 24 years in federal prison under
mandatory sentencingA mandatory sentence is a court decision setting where judicial discretion is limited by law. Typically, people convicted of certain crimes must be punished with at least a minimum number of years in prison...
laws. After two appeals, the McCorkles' sentences were reduced in 2006 to 18 years.
"Paul is Dead"
Bailey was featured in a RKO television special, in which he conducted a mock trial, examining various expert "witnesses" on the subject of the
Paul is Dead"Paul is dead" is an urban legend suggesting that Paul McCartney of the English rock band The Beatles died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike....
rumor. One of the experts was
Fred LaBourFrederick LaBour , better known by his stage name Too Slim, is a Grammy award winning American musician, best known for his work with the Western swing musical and comedy group Riders in the Sky....
, whose article in
The Michigan Daily had been instrumental in the spread of the
urban legendAn urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
. LaBour told Bailey during a pre-show meeting that he had made the whole thing up. Bailey responded, "Well, we have an hour of television to do. You're going to have to go along with this." The program aired locally in New York City on November 30, 1969, and was never re-aired.
Disbarment
Bailey's visible public profile has come both as a result of the cases he has taken and for his own personal actions. In 2001 he was disbarred in the state of
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, with reciprocal disbarment in Massachusetts on April 11, 2003. The Florida disbarment was the result of his handling of stock in the DuBoc marijuana case. Bailey was found guilty of 7 counts of attorney misconduct by the Florida Supreme Court. Bailey had transferred a large portion of DuBoc's assets into his own accounts, using the interest gained on those assets to pay for personal expenses. In March 2005, Bailey filed to regain his law license in Massachusetts but failed, remaining disbarred.
1994 DuBoc case
In 1994, while the O.J. Simpson case was being tried, Bailey and Robert Shapiro represented Claude DuBoc, an accused marijuana dealer. In a plea bargain agreement with the U.S. Attorney, DuBoc agreed to
turn overAsset forfeiture is confiscation, by the State, of assets which are either the alleged proceeds of crime or the alleged instrumentalities of crime, and more recently, alleged terrorism. Instrumentalities of crime are property that was allegedly used to facilitate crime, for example cars...
his assets to the U.S. government. His assets included a large block of stock in BioChem, worth approximately $6 million at the time of the plea deal. When the government sought to collect the stock, it had increased in value to $20 million. Bailey claimed he was entitled to the appreciation in payment of his legal fees. Since he had used the stock as collateral for loans, he was unable to turn over the stock to the government. In 2000, he was sent to prison for contempt. After 44 days at the
Federal Correctional Institution, TallahasseeFederal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee is a federal prison on the south side of Tallahassee, Florida, on Southeast Capital Circle...
, Bailey's brother succeeded in raising the money to enable him to return the stock, and he was freed.
Publications
Non-fiction
- The Defense Never Rests, co-author with Harvey Aronson. Stein & Day, 1971. ISBN 0-8128-1441-X.
- For the Defense. Atheneum, 1975. ISBN 0-689-10667-X.
- Cleared for the Approach: In Defense of Flying, co-author with John Greenya. Prentice Hall
Prentice Hall is a major educational publisher. It is an imprint of Pearson Education, Inc., based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6-12 and higher-education market. Prentice Hall distributes its technical titles through the Safari...
, 1977. ISBN 0-13-136663-7.
- How to Protect Yourself Against Cops in California and Other Strange Places. Stein & Day, 1982. ISBN 0-8128-2891-7.
Fiction
Magazine
- Gallery, publisher (1972).
External links
- "F. Lee Bailey, Chairman and CEO IMPAC Control Systems, Inc." – Corporate biography hosted by IMPAC, Integrated Control Systems, Inc., Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
; "Copyright 2002, Integrated Control Systems, Inc., A Florida Corporation." Accessed October 7, 2007.
- Impac website