Phone:
706-857-3421
Year of Induction:
2009
Major Highlights:
1986 – Defended Tennessee banker C.H. Butcher Jr., who faced 25 counts of fraud. Butcher was acquitted on all counts.
1988 – Represented former Auburn University All-American football star Bobby Hoppe, who was charged with murder in a 1957 shooting. Jurors deadlocked 10-2 for acquittal; the case was never retried.
Currently – Represents Wayne Williams, who is appealing his 1982 conviction for the murder of two black youths in what is known as the “Atlanta Child Murders”
Widely believed to have inspired the 1980s–90s TV-show character Ben Matlock, who was played by Andy Griffith.
Admitted: 1949, Georgia; 1950, U.S. District Court, Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia; 1955, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; 1979, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second, Fourth, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits; U.S. Supreme Court
Member: Lookout Mountain and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Georgia (Chairperson: Georgia Criminal Justice Committee, 1979-1980 Criminal Law Advisory Committee, 1979-1980); Roscoe Pound Foundation; Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Vice President, 1979); Georgia Association of Plaintiff Attorneys; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (Founding Member); The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; Texas Trial Lawyers Association; California Attorneys for Criminal Justice; International Society of Barristers.
Address:
9899 Commerce St, P.O. Box 370
Summerville, GA 30747
Biography:
Professor of Criminal Law, National College of Criminal Defense, 1979-1980;
Member: Georgia House of Representatives, 1949-1950;
Georgia State Senate, 1957-1958;
Judge, State Court, 1963-1966;
Recipient: Legal Award in Los Angeles, American Academy of Achievement, 1980;
Georgia Bar Award for Excellence, 1984;
Ninth Annual Award of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, 1985;
Chairman of Board of Regents, National College of Criminal Defense, 1984-1986;
Member, Board of Advisors, BNA Criminal Practice, 1987;
Fellow, AmericanCollege of Trial Lawyers.
Timeline of Achievement:
- 1986 – Defended Tennessee banker C.H. Butcher Jr., who faced 25 counts of fraud. Butcher was acquitted on all counts.
1988 – Represented former Auburn University All-American football star Bobby Hoppe, who was charged with murder in a 1957 shooting. Jurors deadlocked 10-2 for acquittal; the case was never retried.
Currently – Represents Wayne Williams, who is appealing his 1982 conviction for the murder of two black youths in what is known as the “Atlanta Child Murders”
Widely believed to have inspired the 1980s–90s TV-show character Ben Matlock, who was played by Andy Griffith.
Admitted: 1949, Georgia; 1950, U.S. District Court, Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia; 1955, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; 1979, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second, Fourth, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits; U.S. Supreme Court
Member: Lookout Mountain and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Georgia (Chairperson: Georgia Criminal Justice Committee, 1979-1980 Criminal Law Advisory Committee, 1979-1980); Roscoe Pound Foundation; Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Vice President, 1979); Georgia Association of Plaintiff Attorneys; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (Founding Member); The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; Texas Trial Lawyers Association; California Attorneys for Criminal Justice; International Society of Barristers.
