Roy Black, a prominent defense attorney who represented numerous high-profile clients, has passed away.

He was 80.

Black’s list of clients included pop star Justin Bieber, conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh, race car driver Helio Castroneves, and physician William Kennedy Smith, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and Senator and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

Black also represented Jeffrey Epstein.

According to Newsweek, Black helped secure Epstein’s 2008 plea deal.

More from the Associated Press:

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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.

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.

Black’s law partner Howard Srebnick said he died Monday at his home in Coral Gables after an illness.

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“For more than 30 years, Roy was my teacher, mentor and friend,” Srebnick told the Associated Press.

“The loss(es) I feel personally and professionally are immeasurable,” he added.

Newsweek noted:

Black also played a role in Epstein’s legal defense during his 2006 Florida criminal case, involving charges of soliciting prostitution from underage girls.

In 2008, Epstein avoided more severe federal charges by pleading guilty to state charges of procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution. Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He served 13 months.

Two women subsequently filed a lawsuit saying that the deal violated federal law because they were never given an opportunity to object or adequately consulted about the deal.

Roy Black, who was one of Epstein’s lawyers, said in court papers that there was no conspiracy to violate victims’ rights, and the plea bargain “was no sweetheart deal by any stretch of the imagination,” per The Guardian.

In 2015, Black filed motions to block the release of emails and letters that Epstein’s lawyers sent to federal prosecutors during plea negotiations. He and Martin Weinberg argued that Epstein would be “irreparably harmed” if they were made public. Epstein later died in a jail cell in New York in 2019.

 

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