[2 articles]
Luke McKissack dies at 72; L.A. criminal and civil rights lawyer
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-luke-mckissack-20100430,0,6527207.story
His clients included the Black Panther Party, the American Indian
Movement and Sirhan Sirhan. He was a TV legal analyst during the O.J.
Simpson criminal trial.
By Dennis McLellan
April 30, 2010
Luke McKissack, a prominent Los Angeles criminal defense and civil
rights attorney whose clients included Sirhan B. Sirhan after his
conviction for the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy and an Army
private charged with the hand-grenade killing of two officers in
Vietnam, has died. He was 72.
McKissack, who also was a TV legal analyst during the O.J. Simpson
criminal trial, died Sunday of complications from brain cancer at his
home in Los Angeles, said his son-in-law, Brian Chisholm.
During his more than 30-year career, McKissack served as the Black
Panther Party's chief counsel in Southern California and was chief
counsel for the American Indian Movement, defending Native Americans
against charges stemming from the occupation of Wounded Knee, S.D., in 1973.
McKissack joined the American Civil Liberties Union as a volunteer
trial attorney in 1964.
McKissack also was one of two attorneys whom Charles Manson
unsuccessfully sought to have act as co-counsel with him in late 1969
after a judge reluctantly granted Manson permission to represent
himself at his trial on multiple murder charges. Manson's motion to
represent himself later was denied.
In his unpublished autobiography, McKissack said that in accepting
Manson's request to represent him, he saw the case as a great
opportunity to put the death penalty on trial. He said he later
resigned from working with Manson because of conflicts with his work
with the Black Panthers and other clients.
Earlier in 1969, McKissack was one of three new lawyers retained by
Sirhan to handle his request for a new trial and appeals to higher
courts. McKissack became Sirhan's chief defense attorney and
continued to represent him in his attempts to gain parole for more
than 20 years.
In 1972, McKissack headed the defense for Billy Dean Smith, a
24-year-old black private from Watts, who was charged with murdering
two white lieutenants in their quarters at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam,
in 1971 with a hand grenade. The blast also wounded another officer.
The Army, according to trial coverage in The Times, charged that
Smith killed the two officers in an attempt to murder his artillery
battery commander and first sergeant, who were mistakenly believed to
be sleeping in the room. Smith also was charged with three counts of assault.
A general court-martial jury at Ft. Ord, Calif., acquitted Smith of
all charges of murder or attempted murder and convicted him on a
single charge of assaulting a military police officer who arrested
him 90 minutes after the two officers were killed.
"He was a very fine defense lawyer," attorney Vincent Bugliosi, chief
prosecutor in the Manson murder case, said of McKissack. "He was a
very bright guy and had a reputation for being very articulate."
Gilbert Caton, a defense attorney who worked on various cases with
McKissack, said he "was the brightest guy I ever met."
He recalled that McKissack, an amateur magician, once used a "magic
trick or two" during his closing argument in a trial.
"He was really quite extraordinary," Caton said.
Indeed, when McKissack was trying a case, he was known to draw
numerous lawyers and even judges into the courtroom to watch him
argue a point of law or spellbind the jury.
McKissack was practicing law only part time when he began serving as
chief legal analyst for KTTV-TV Channel 11 during the Simpson case in 1994.
Howard Rosenberg, The Times' television critic, wrote that McKissack
"is a natural, one of those rare finds for TV, someone who is
effortlessly informative, lucid, incisive and even witty."
McKissack was born Oct. 16, 1937, in Thomasville, Ga. He received a
bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy from the
University of Florida in 1959. After graduating from UCLA School of
Law in 1962, he began his career working briefly as a prosecutor.
He is survived by his third wife, Mariko; his daughters, Natsko
McKissack, Mitsko Chisholm and Lana McKissack; and a grandson.
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OBIT: Luke McKissack, 72
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/01/AR2010050102976.html
Luke McKissack, defense lawyer, dies; clients included Sirhan, Black Panthers
By Dennis McLellan
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Luke McKissack, 72, a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer whose
clients included Sirhan B. Sirhan after his conviction for the
assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and an Army private charged
in the hand-grenade killing of two officers in Vietnam, died April 25
at his home in Los Angeles. He had complications from brain cancer
During his more than 30-year career, Mr. McKissack served as the
Black Panther Party's chief counsel in Southern California and was
chief counsel for the American Indian Movement, defending American
Indians against charges stemming from the occupation of Wounded Knee,
S.D., in 1973.
Mr. McKissack was also one of two attorneys whom Charles Manson
unsuccessfully sought to have act as co-counsel with him in late 1969
after a judge reluctantly granted Manson permission to represent
himself at his trial on multiple murder charges. Manson's motion to
represent himself later was denied.
In his unpublished autobiography, Mr. McKissack said that in
accepting Manson's request to represent him, he saw the case as a
great opportunity to put the death penalty on trial. He said he later
resigned from the Manson case because of conflicts with his work with
the Black Panthers and other clients.
Earlier in 1969, Mr. McKissack was one of three new lawyers retained
by Sirhan to handle his request for a new trial and appeals to higher
courts. Mr. McKissack became Sirhan's chief defense attorney and
continued to represent him in his attempts to gain parole for more
than 20 years.
In 1972, he headed the defense for Billy Dean Smith, a 24-year-old
black private from the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, who was
accused of killing two white lieutenants in their quarters at Bien
Hoa, South Vietnam, in 1971 with a hand grenade. The blast also
wounded another officer.
The Army, according to trial coverage in the Los Angeles Times,
alleged that Smith killed the two officers in an attempt to murder
his artillery battery commander and first sergeant, who were
mistakenly believed to be sleeping in the room. Smith was also
charged with three counts of assault.
A general court-martial jury at Fort Ord, Calif., acquitted Smith of
all charges of murder or attempted murder and convicted him on a
single charge of assaulting a military police officer who arrested
him 90 minutes after the two officers were killed.
Mr. McKissack was born Oct. 16, 1937, in Thomasville, Ga. He was a
1959 political science and philosophy graduate of the University of
Florida and a 1962 graduate of the University of California at Los
Angeles' law school.
.
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