THE ONE WE LEFT OUT

 

Attorney Al Krieger- who became part of our local bar later in his career, commanded every courtroom he walked into. His cross examinations were conducted with a surgeon’s scalpel and delivered with a bulldog growl.  

He was born in Manhattan in 1923, attended New York University on a football scholarship, graduating in 1945. After a brief Army stint, he earned his LL.B. from NYU School of Law in 1949. And from there, he went on to have a sixty-year career in the law.

He started by defending OC figures in NYC including Joe Bonanno in the 1960s, and famously John Gotti in 1992. His cross examination of the turncoat/rat in that case was legendary.  

But to us, Al Krieger became the GOAT when he- pro bono- defended approximately 150 defendants of the American Indian Movement after they occupied Wounded Knee in 1973. He obtained dismissals or acquittals for nearly all defendants. This was an achievement that ranks as the very best in the history of American Criminal defense. From this point on Al Krieger was a superstar.

Al Krieger was a founding member and president (1979–1980) of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and also helped to establish the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Georgia, in 1985, training generations of defense attorneys.

Al Krieger received the NACDL Lifetime Achievement Award and Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award, as well as the ABA Charles R. English Award.

Albert J. Krieger’s name remains synonymous with courage, integrity, and excellence in criminal defense—a “lawyer’s lawyer” whose advocacy helped elevate the defense bar to a position of national respect and influence.

So where do we put him?

He was every bit the trial lawyer of Lee Bailey(3)  and Roy Black (2). It’s like asking where do you put DiMaggio in an outfield of Mays, Aaron and Clemente?

So we leave you with this – the top three criminal defense attorneys of the last 50 years were Spence, Krieger, Bailey and Black. You figure it out.