James F. Neal

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James Neal
Personal details
Born
James Foster Neal

(1928-09-07)September 7, 1928
Oak Grove, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedOctober 21, 2010(2010-10-21) (aged 82)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Wyoming (BA)
Vanderbilt University (JD)
Georgetown University (LLM)

James Foster Neal (September 7, 1928 – October 21, 2010) was an American

Nixon administration officials in connection with the Watergate scandal.[1]

Early life, education, early career

Neal was born on September 7, 1928, in

Washington, DC
law firm.

Works for RFK, Hoffa prosecutions

Attorney General

prison sentence was later commuted by Richard Nixon. After the Hoffa prosecution, Neal was appointed the United States Attorney for the federal courts in Nashville, Tennessee
.

Private practice

In 1966, Neal became a Nashville, Tennessee-based trial attorney who litigated prominent cases around the country. In 1971, he and Aubrey Harwell, Jr. formed Neal & Harwell. The firm's emphasis was and continues to be on criminal and civil litigation.

Neal later won an acquittal of

George Nichopoulos, who had been tried for improperly dispensing drugs that contributed to the singer's death in 1977. In 1980, Neal won an acquittal for Ford Motor Company when the company was charged with reckless homicide due to the faulty design of its Pinto model car, convincing jurors that the company was not negligent, despite the safety problems experienced with the Pinto.[3] In 1985, Neal successfully defended Governor Edwin Edwards of Louisiana in a trial for racketeering.[4]

Watergate prosecutor, federal service

Watergate scandal
The Watergate complex in 2006
Events
List
People
Watergate burglars
Groups
CRP
White House
Judiciary
Journalists
Intelligence community
Congress
Related

In 1973,

conspiracy, perjury and obstruction of justice on January 1, 1975.[3]

In the 1980s, Neal returned to federal service as a special investigator of the

Iran-Contra
scandals.

Additional high-profile cases

In 1985,

Exxon Corporation after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.[3]

Television actor

In addition to trial litigation, Neal did legal work for a number of Nashville-based

country-western entertainers. One of his clients, Johnny Cash, cast him as a lawyer in the 1983 made-for-television movie Murder in Coweta County.[8] Neal also played himself in Watergate, a 1994 television mini-series.[9]

Death

Neal died at the age of 82 on October 21, 2010, in Nashville, Tennessee due to esophageal cancer.[3] He was survived by widow Dianne Ferrell Neal, to whom he had been married for 20 years, two kids, and three grandchildren.[5]

References

  1. ^ James Neal: Lawyer who put Jimmy Hoffa in jail and prosecuted the perpetrators of the Watergate cover-up, The Independent Obituary (UK), 04 November 2010
  2. ^ The Portland Leader, Portland, Tennessee, Volume 52, Issue 43, October 27, 2010, page A1
  3. ^ a b c d e Weber, Bruce. "James F. Neal, Litigated Historic Cases, Dies at 81", The New York Times, October 22, 2010. Accessed October 23, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Anne Paine and Brian Haas, Nashville lawyer, Watergate prosecutor Jim Neal has died, The Tennessean, October 22, 2010
  5. ^ a b Schudel, Matt (October 23, 2010). "Won convictions over Hoffa, top Nixon aides". The Washington Post. p. B5.
  6. ^ Blind Ambition, by John Dean, 1976, Simon & Schuster, New York
  7. YouTube
  8. ^ Miller, Stephen. "Watergate Prosecutor Neal Dies", The Wall Street Journal, October 23, 2010. Accessed October 23, 2010.
  9. ^ "Internet Movie Database". IMDb. Retrieved 2010-10-23.

External links

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