Gerry Spence is among a handful of great American lawyers who have successfully fought for truth and justice against all odds in the legal arena. In this interview at his Thunderbird Ranch in Wyoming, Gerry discusses the lessons he learned as a young man that defined his youth and fueled his lifelong pursuit of justice. He talks about the single most tragic event of his life, the death of his mother, and how it transformed him and allowed him to become sensitive to the feelings of society’s castoffs and prepared him to be a trial lawyer. And he discusses how the frontier and land of Wyoming shaped his life and philosophy. Gerry joins a distinguished group of other American lawyers who dedicated their lives to seeking justice as well as representing the innocent and the damned:
– Patrick Henry (1736-1799), member of the Continental Congress and Governor of Virginia
– John Jay (1745-1829), first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
– John Marshall (1755-1835), Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
– Daniel Webster (1782-1852), US Secretary of State
– Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), President
– Stephen Douglas (1813-1861), US Representative and Senator, from Illinois
– Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), defense attorney in the Scopes trial of 1925
– Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court and lead attorney in Brown v. Board of Education
Gerry Spence has tried and won many nationally known cases, including the Karen Silkwood case (a movie was made of the case with Meryl Streep and Cher), the defense of Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge, the defense of Imelda Marcos, the case against “Penthouse Magazine” for Miss Wyoming and the murder defenses of Ed Cantrell and Sandy Jones. In 2008 in a politically charged case brought by the Justice Department in Michigan against attorney Geoffrey Fieger, Gerry won complete acquittals for his client on a ten-count indictment alleging federal campaign contribution violations, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Gerry also represented Brandon Mayfield, a modest Oregon attorney, against the United States in which Spence was instrumental in obtaining a federal court to hold the Patriot Act unconstitutional. He has tried numerous other important criminal and civil trials. He has never lost a criminal case either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney. He has not lost a civil case since 1969. He has had more multi-million dollar verdicts without an intervening loss than any lawyer in America.
Gerry is the founder of the nationally acclaimed Trial Lawyers College, which established a revolutionary method for training lawyers for the people. He believes that what he has learned in a career should be shared with those who will continue to strive for justice on behalf of ordinary citizens. There he and his pro bono staff teach not only trial lawyers for the people but conduct a forum to help lawyers defeat the death penalty. He is the founder of Lawyers and Advocates for Wyoming, a not for profit public interest law firm which champions cases affecting public interest for clients who have nowhere else to have their voices heard.
Gerry is the author of sixteen nationally published books, including the massive best-seller, How to Argue and Win Every Time; From Freedom to Slavery; O.J: the Last Word; The Making of a Country Lawyer; Murder and Madness; A Boy’s Summer; With Justice for None; Give Me Liberty!; Gunning for Justice; Trial by Fire, Win Your Case; Bloodthirsty Bitches, and the Pious Pimps of Power; Gerry Spence’s Wyoming; Smoking Gun and his widely acclaimed novel, Half-Moon and Empty Stars.
The Spence Law Firm is made up of eight partners with combined legal experience of over 200 years, dedicated to the fight for the rights of the injured. Each partner has developed extensive knowledge and expertise in one or more of the practice areas and specialties of the firm. The firm represents people who have suffered injuries at the workplace, during recreational activities, or in automobile, trucking, railroad or aviation accidents. The Spence Law Firm takes legal action based on products liability for injury or loss caused by defective products – equipment, toys, medical prostheses, pharmaceuticals, household products, etc. The firm represents people who are the victims of toxic exposures (poisoning of the air, water, soil, workplace, etc.), employment discrimination, and bad faith execution of contracts by insurance companies, business entities, and service providers.
You can contact Gerry Spence at 800-967-2117, or www.spencelawyers.com