Synopsis
Nathan Cohn is one of the winningest criminal defense lawyers alive, founder of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, an organization of the top criminal trial lawyers in the nation, chosen by their peers. "Nate" explains he prefers murder cases because they give him the same thrill that others find in high-stakes gambling. But here the stakes are the highest, someone's life or liberty. His cases include one of the first post-partum depression homicide cases (in which his client spent not a day in jail); the fastest jury acquittal case in California history (40 minutes in a case in which his client confessed to stabbing his victim 18 times); the "Golden Dragon" case in which his client was identified as the shooter in a gang killing by seven eyewitnesses; and the "Cash or Clobber Collection Caper," where he used humor to free his client from a death penalty charge of kidnapping. Nate's tales are redolent with the atmosphere of the San Francisco of the 1940's and 1950's, of Sam Spade and "Baghdad by the Bay" – featuring a world of gamblers, bookies, gypsies, prostititutes, shoulder by shoulder with prominent politicians, Hollywood personalities, and society swells, and take him from the world of carnivals and circuses where he was raised to the corridors of the California legislature and the lobbyists and politicians who dominated it —all with a laugh and the realization that it is only a quirk of fate, or luck, which separates the insurance company vice president from the corner hustler.
About the Author
Nathan Cohn, a graduate of San Francisco Law School, practiced for more than fifty years in San Francisco. His clients have included Melvin Belli, Jack Soo, Tempest Storm, Steve Cochran, Josephine Baker, Arthur Ellen, Exotica, Bob Crosby, Barbara McNair, Heavyweight contender Thad Spencer, Barneys, Billie Holliday, Artie Samish, Margo the A Bomb, Eddie Machen, Willie McCovey, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Paul Frees, Robert Stroud (The Birdman of Alcatraz), Duke Ellington, PoPo theClown, many elected officials and numerous attorneys. In 1978, he founded the American Board of Criminal Lawyers,a national organization of the top criminal trial lawyers in the country, chosen by their peers. Actively engaged in the practice of law since December, 1947, Nate has tried over 200 jury cases, criminal and civil. He has also served as Municipal Court Judge Pro Tem and Superior Court Judge Pro Tem for San Francisco and Marin counties, presiding over jury trials. Nate has lectured at seminars in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Detroit, Atlanta, Reno, and Los Vegas and at Hastings Law School, Lincoln Law School, University of California's Boalt Hall Law School, Hastings Law School and Santa Clara Law School. For a period of nine years (1960-1968), Nate organized, produced, moderated and lectured at Criminal Law Seminars he produced. All the seminar profits weredonated to the Northern California Service League. He also published the proceedings of three of these seminars. Nate has been appointed Commissioner, California State Recreation Commission (1965-1968), a member of the Democratic State Central Committee, Honorary Sheriff, Marin County, a member of the Regional Comprehensive Planning Effort of the California Council on Criminal Justice, and Colonel, Commonwealth of Kentucky. Nate has been recognized with the lifetime Achievement Award from the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association in 2000, the Hall of Fame Award from San Francisco Law School. the Don Bailey Award for Professionalism from the American Board of Trial Advocates (San Francisco Chapter) and the American Guild of Variety Artist Foundation Award. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom declared September 29, 2004 "Nate Cohn Day" in San Francisco. He lives in Tiburon, California with his wife, Carolyn.
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