Prominent Miami defense attorney Roy Black dies, represented William Kennedy Smith in rape trial

Prominent Miami defense lawyer Roy Black, who gained national attention by winning an acquittal in the 1991 William Kennedy Smith rape trial and was involved in scores of other high-profile cases ranging from Justin Bieber to Jeffrey Epstein, has died at age 80, his law partner said.

Among Black's other well-known clients were Rush Limbaugh, race car driver Helio Castroneves and Columbian drug lord Fabio Ochoa.

“For more than 30 years, Roy was my teacher, mentor and friend,” said his law partner, Howard Srebnick, in an email. “The loss(es) I feel personally and professionally are immeasurable.”

Smith's 1991 trial became a watershed criminal defense moment when most of it was carried live on national television, famously with a blue dot obscuring the identity of the accuser on the witness stand. Smith is a nephew of former president John F. Kennedy, former Attorney General and U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and former Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was implicated but never charged in the alleged assault of a woman in Palm Beach during a night of heavy drinking.

Kennedy Smith is now a physician involved in an organization dedicated to banning land mines and treating victims of them.

In Miami, Black was viewed in legal circles as the GOAT — the greatest of all time, said fellow defense attorney David O. Markus, who compared him to NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

“He worked harder than any lawyer I know. And he outlawyered every prosecutor who he ever went up against. I will miss him. His impact on criminal defense is beyond measure,” Markus said in an email.

The Bieber case involved allegations of driving a Lamborghini under the influence and drag racing, though the pop star eventually pleaded guilty to lesser charges of misdemeanor careless driving and resisting arrest. Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves was acquitted in a case involving alleged tax evasion.

Over the years, Black's clients included Rush Limbaugh; “Varsity Blues” defendant Amid Khoury, who was found not guilty of rigging college admissions; and Miami police officer William Lozano, who was acquitted in the shooting death of Black motorcyclist Clement Lloyd. The latter acquittal sparked riots in Miami in 1989.

Black was part of a group of prominent lawyers who handled Epstein's case, including Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Star. Epstein sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, exploiting vulnerable girls as young as 14, authorities say.

In 2019, after Epstein died in a New York jail cell following his arrest on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges, Black sought to stop Epstein's victims from reopening a non-prosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to plead guilty to lesser state charges a decade earlier.

Another of Black's law partners, Jackie Perczek, said she learned from him that it was a lawyer's duty to “fiercely battle the oppressors and support the underdog.”

“This generation and many to come stand on his shoulders,” she said.

Black frequently wrote articles about the law for national publications and was regularly on national television shows.

He is survived by his wife, Lea, whom he met when she was a juror in the Kennedy Smith trial and who once starred in TV's “Real Housewives of Miami." They have a son, RJ, and his daughter, Nora. Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

FILE - Attorney Roy Black watches during jury selection in West Palm Beach, Fla., March 6, 2012. (Lannis Waters/ The Palm Beach Post, Pool, file)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)