Ellis S. Rubin | |
|---|---|
 Ellis Rubin and client, 1980 | |
| Born | June 20, 1925 Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 12, 2006 (aged 81) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | College of the Holy Cross (BA) University of Miami (LLB) |
| Occupation | Defense attorney |
| Known for | Creative and original defense tactics |
Ellis S. Rubin (June 20, 1925 – December 12, 2006) was an American attorney who gained national fame for handling a variety of highly publicized cases in a legal career that spanned 53 years. He was famous for his innovative defenses and his propensity for handling lost causes. Rubin won the first case in Florida using the “battered woman” defense. He also worked to free a man, James Joseph Richardson, who had been wrongly imprisoned for 21 years for fatally poisoning his seven children,[1] and created the nymphomania defense in a case involving prostitution.[2]
The Washington Post characterized Rubin as "a Miami lawyer with an affection for the disenfranchised and an outsized knack for publicity in the tradition of P. T. Barnum [... who] capitalized on the flamboyant characters and outrageous crimes endemic to South Florida to present innovative and often unprecedented legal defenses."[3] His tactics were often controversial. Judge Wayne L. Cobb, who handled the case of a confessed serial killer whom Rubin was defending in 1993, said Rubin was "famous for his psychobabble defenses".[2] Throughout his career he took on over 5,000 civil and criminal cases.[4]
- ^ "Groundbreaking attorney Ellis Rubin dies at 81". Archived from the original on 2007-06-15. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ a b "Ellis Rubin, 81, Lawyer Known for 'TV Intoxication' Defense, Dies". The New York Times. December 13, 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ Sullivan, Patricia (December 14, 2006). "Outspoken Lawyer Ellis Rubin, 81". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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