Prominent criminal defense lawyer William B. Moffitt, a former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers who built a reputation as a crusader for civil rights, died Friday. Moffitt, name partner at Moffitt & Brodnax, was 60.
Friends of the Alexandria, Va.-based attorney say Moffitt, a member of the D.C. and Virginia bars, battled pneumonia earlier this year and has struggled with kidney disease. He had been hospitalized for several days before his death.
Moffitt was the second black president of the NACDL and a former name partner at now-defunct Asbill Moffitt & Boss. “We shared many courtroom battles, and I greatly admired his legal mind and passion for criminal justice,” says Henry Asbill, a partner at Dewey & LeBoeuf. “Bill was irreverent to the core. With a barely hidden grin, he loved to tell folks, ‘Heaven doesn't want me and hell’s afraid I'll take over.’ He will be sorely missed.”
Barry Boss, managing partner in the D.C. office of Cozen O’Connor, fondly recalls watching Moffitt in action in a drug case in 1991. Moffitt, known for his booming voice and large physical presence, told Boss he was going to pick apart a government snitch.
“Watch what I do with him,” Moffitt told Boss, who was representing a codefendant. Moffitt grilled the witness, theatrically making check marks on a legal pad as he went from one point to the next. When Moffitt returned to the defense table, Boss looked over at the pad. “The only thing on it was check marks,” Boss recalls.
More recently Moffitt defended former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in a terrorism and conspiracy case. After a six-month trial, a jury acquitted Al-Arian on eight of the 18 charges and deadlocked on the others—a blow to the Justice Department. Al-Arian pleaded guilty in 2006 to a conspiracy charge.
But a contempt charge is pending against Al-Arian in federal court in Virginia, where George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley is representing the former professor. Turley had been working closely with Moffitt. “If lawyers had baseball cards, Bill Moffitt would be one of the most traded,” Turley says. “He was the guy who could come back from a big deficit and win the game and win the series.”
Friends say Moffitt, a New York native who got his law degree at American University’s Washington College of Law, never missed an opportunity to teach—from interns to young lawyers. Moffitt was on the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Ga. “If he had to do his life all over again, he’d still be a lawyer,” says Moffitt’s widow, Edna Lee Moffitt.
A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, at Howard University Law School's Dunbarton Chapel, 2900 Van Ness Street N.W., Washington, D.C.
As the wife of Bill Moffitt I had the opportunity to watch up close and personal how much of his life he devoted to the practice of law. He was always concerned about his clients and always gave the best of himself for their welfare. His memory will live on by those he inspired and we are all the better for having known him.
Thank you for all of the kindness which the community of lawyers and friends have shown in his honor. I sincerely thank you and know that Bill would thank you also.
Posted by: Edna Lee Moffitt | May 23, 2009 at 06:46 PM
I loved to watch Mr. Moffitt share his wisdom on national television. As a new attorney in DC I looked forward to watching him practice his trade in person. Although we never met, I consider him a spiritual mentor and he will be sorely missed in the profession and in the world.
To a champion of justice and lion in the courtroom.
Have Peace.
Posted by: Derrick Page, Esq. | May 22, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Bill Moffitt was not just an incredible lawyer to me, he was my father. I will never be able to fully express how proud I am of all he accomplished and his ability to inspire. He LOVED what he did, the law was his passion.
I want to thank everyone for sharing their memories and giving their support. Because of you my father will never ever be forgotten.
Thank you.
Posted by: Pilar G. Moffitt | May 21, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Bill was my friend and was always there when I needed advice on a legal matter. I find it hard to believe that he is no longer here and I miss him.
Posted by: JT Harris | May 11, 2009 at 07:58 PM
Bill, Lenny, and I were the best of friends through high school. Our shared experiences helped each other to grow into manhood.
Bill was in my wedding, and when my son attended the University of Virginia, I told him that if you ever get into trouble, call Uncle Bill. Thankfully, he never had to make that call, but I knew that he would be OK with having Uncle Bill only a phone call away.
Bill had the highest level of integrity and had no interest in being politically correct. Our country will be a little poorer without Bill.
Posted by: Robert D. Rawlins | May 04, 2009 at 06:33 AM
Billy Moffitt was a great friend, a classmate at Brooklyn Tech, a brother of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and a brother of Les Hommes Du Monde, three friends who will always be together in spirit.
We love you Billy! Thank you for all the wonderful memories, laughs and lessons. You made a serious impact on my life and the lives of so many others. We were always so proud of you. Be at peace...
In True Omega Spirit, your brother,
Lenny
Posted by: Leonard P Hubbard | May 01, 2009 at 04:59 PM
Bill Moffitt was a great spirit, and a great fighter for civil and constitutional rights. He would never use the term "defendant," but only "the accused," because the concept, "innocent until PROVEN guilty" was sacrosanct to him. I was one of the first "accused" in one of the many prosecutions brought against the LaRouche political movement, prosecutions which former Attorney General Ramsey Clark described as the longest-running case of prosecutorial misconduct either experienced by him or known to him. Bill's was the first face that I saw after being held many hours by the FBI on the day of my blitzkrieg arrest. Moffitt inspired a belief that justice could prevail, even in those most difficult of circumstances, and some of that government misconduct was eventually exposed in Federal Court in Boston where Bill Moffitt defended.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 28, 2009 at 03:25 PM
The big grin, and the contagious laughter that accompanied it will be sorely missed.
He and John F. Mark were the best of their kind.
Mike Maurer
Posted by: Mike Maurer | April 27, 2009 at 06:59 PM
I was honored to be one of his students at NCDC. A great man, an incredible trial lawyer. I struggle to express how much of an impact he had upon young lawyers across the country through his teaching.
He will be missed.
Posted by: Megan Nielsen Lee | April 27, 2009 at 06:38 PM