James Foster Neal (September 7, 1928 – October 21, 2010) was an American
trial lawyer
A lawyer is a person who Practice of law, practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different Jurisdiction, legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney at law, attorney, barrister, canonist, canon l ...
who was best known for prosecuting
labor leader
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle Hoffa (born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975; declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 until 1971.
F ...
and later top
Nixon administration officials in connection with the
Watergate scandal.
Early life, education, early career
Neal was born on September 7, 1928, in
Oak Grove, Tennessee, and grew up on a small tobacco and strawberry farm. Neal attended Sumner County High School in
Portland, Tennessee, and played running back on the football team. He graduated from high school in the class of 1946. He attended the
University of Wyoming on a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
scholarship and was a running back on its 1950 undefeated team. After graduating from college, Neal served for two years in the
United States Marine Corps. He graduated first in his law school class at
Vanderbilt University Law School in 1957 and also earned a master's degree in tax law from
Georgetown University in 1960.
[ Neal then joined a Washington, DC law firm.
]
Works for RFK, Hoffa prosecutions
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy selected Neal in 1961 to lead a Justice Department investigation of Jimmy Hoffa, who was President of the Teamsters Union and a powerful political figure. After Hoffa's first trial on corruption charges ended in a hung jury, Neal led a second prosecution for jury tampering, which resulted in Hoffa's only federal conviction. According to '' The Washington Post'', Neal took pride in saying "Jimmy Hoffa once called me the most vicious prosecutor who ever lived."
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 Elvis Presley's doctor, George Nichopoulos
George Constantine Nichopoulos (October 29, 1927 – February 24, 2016), also known as Dr. Nick, was an American physician of Greek descent. He was best known as Elvis Presley's personal physician and was controversial due to the singer's longstand ...
, 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
Pinto is a Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all Portuguese-speaking countries and is also widely present in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, India especially in Mangalore, Kar ...
model car, convincing jurors that the company was not negligent, despite the safety problems experienced with the Pinto.[Weber, Bruce]
"James F. Neal, Litigated Historic Cases, Dies at 81"
'' The New York Times'', October 22, 2010. Accessed October 23, 2010. In 1985, Neal successfully defended Governor Edwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972– ...
of Louisiana in a trial for racketeering
Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit.
Originally and of ...
.[Anne Paine and Brian Haas]
Nashville lawyer, Watergate prosecutor Jim Neal has died
'' The Tennessean'', October 22, 2010
Watergate prosecutor, federal service
In 1973, special prosecutor Archibald Cox recruited Neal to investigate the Watergate scandal. Neal negotiated a guilty plea from former White House Counsel John Dean in October 1973, and then represented the prosecution in a 1974 criminal trial where former Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
John Mitchell and Presidential aides John D. Ehrlichman
John Daniel Ehrlichman (; March 20, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an American political aide who served as the White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important ...
and H.R. Haldeman
Harry Robbins Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate s ...
were convicted of conspiracy, perjury and obstruction of justice on January 1, 1975.[
In the 1980s, Neal returned to federal service as a special investigator of the Abscam and Iran-Contra scandals.
]
Additional high-profile cases
In 1985, ''Fortune'' magazine named Neal one of the United States' top trial lawyers. Neal defended film director John Landis in a manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
trial resulting from the death of actor Vic Morrow and two children during the 1982 filming of '' Twilight Zone: The Movie''. Following this success, John Landis cast Neal (and his law partner James F. Sanders) as extras in the 1988 movie '' Coming to America''. Neal represented Exxon Corporation
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill
The ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. ''Exxon Valdez'', an oil supertanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company bound for Long Beach, California struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, west o ...
in Alaska.[
]
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
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
, cast him as a lawyer in the 1983 made-for-television movie ''Murder in Coweta County
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
''.[Miller, Stephen]
"Watergate Prosecutor Neal Dies"
'' The Wall Street Journal'', October 23, 2010. Accessed October 23, 2010. Neal also played himself in ''Watergate'', a 1994 television mini-series.
Death
Neal died at the age of 82 on October 21, 2010, in Nashville, Tennessee due to esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...
.[ He was survived by widow Dianne Ferrell Neal, to whom he had been married for 20 years, two kids, and three grandchildren.][
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, James F.
1929 births
2010 deaths
Deaths from cancer in Tennessee
Deaths from esophageal cancer
Georgetown University alumni
United States Attorneys for the Middle District of Tennessee
United States Marines
University of Wyoming alumni
Vanderbilt University Law School alumni
Watergate scandal investigators
People from Sumner County, Tennessee