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10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Percy Foreman.md
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@ -24,13 +24,16 @@ Percy Foreman (June 21, 1902 to August 25, 1988) was born in a log cabin near [[
At the hearing in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] on March 10, 1969, Ray interrupted: "The only thing I have to say is that I can't agree with Mr. Clark." Foreman supplied: "[[Ramsey Clark]]." Ray went on: "Mr. [[J. Edgar Hoover]]. I agree with all these stipulations, and I am not trying to change anything." The court asked whose theories he rejected. "Mr. Canale's, Mr. Clark's and Mr. J. Edgar Hoover's about the conspiracy." Foreman told the judge: "I think that what he said is that he doesn't agree with Ramsey Clark that Ramsey Clark is right or that J. Edgar Hoover is right. I didn't argue that as evidence in this case." Ray received 99 years and within days repudiated the plea. His suit against Foreman, Huie, and Hanes was dismissed, and the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit|Sixth Circuit]] affirmed in 1971, leaving open the question whether such contracts "are void as a matter of public policy." In 1976 the same court found "a potential conflict of interest" in the arrangement, and a district court finding that the fee "would be unreasonable if there were money to pay it," and upheld the plea.[^2][^3]
The new agreements of January 29 and February 3, 1969, gave Foreman 60 percent of the income from Huie's works. Ray alleged that on February 13 Foreman brought him a waiver of any claim against Huie or *[[Look (magazine)|Look]]* "for damaging Ray's chances for a fair trial," and that Foreman told him "the prosecution was prepared to bribe a key witness" and that "if he refused to plead guilty, Foreman would exercise less than his best efforts at trial." In one of the letters of March 9 Foreman wrote of the Huie royalties: "These are my own property unconditionally," and that he had by then "spent in excess of $9,500.00 on your case." The Sixth Circuit in 1974 called the allegations, if true, "an outrageous abrogation of the standards which the legal profession sets for itself" and ordered a hearing.[^4]
### The Hunts
On July 21, 1975, a federal grand jury charged [[Nelson Bunker Hunt]], [[William Herbert Hunt|Herbert Hunt]], Foreman, three other lawyers, and "a retired Texas industrialist," [[Edward J. Hudson]] of Houston, with obstruction of justice. "The indictment charged that the seven men had conspired to pay witnesses to go to prison to hush testimony about the wiretapping" of [[H.L. Hunt]]'s aides [[Paul Rothermel]] and [[John Curington]], who were Foreman's clients. The Hunts answered the same day that the charges were "a further result of an attempt by the C.I.A. to discredit the Hunt oil empire." In April 1976 Bunker Hunt pleaded nolo contendere and paid a fine of 1,000 dollars, and the charges against Foreman and Hudson were dropped. Neither of the wire service obituaries of 1988 mentioned the indictment.[^1][^4]
On July 21, 1975, a federal grand jury charged [[Nelson Bunker Hunt]], [[William Herbert Hunt|Herbert Hunt]], Foreman, three other lawyers, and "a retired Texas industrialist," [[Edward J. Hudson]] of Houston, with obstruction of justice. "The indictment charged that the seven men had conspired to pay witnesses to go to prison to hush testimony about the wiretapping" of [[H.L. Hunt]]'s aides [[Paul Rothermel]] and [[John Curington]], who were Foreman's clients. The Hunts answered the same day that the charges were "a further result of an attempt by the C.I.A. to discredit the Hunt oil empire." In April 1976 Bunker Hunt pleaded nolo contendere and paid a fine of 1,000 dollars, and the charges against Foreman and Hudson were dropped. Neither of the wire service obituaries of 1988 mentioned the indictment.[^1][^5]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Famed trial lawyer Percy Foreman, who defended James Earl Ray," United Press International, August 25, 1988; "Outspoken lawyer Percy Foreman called legal 'warrior,'" United Press International, August 26, 1988.
[^2]: *Ray v. Foreman,* 441 F.2d 1266 (6th Cir. 1971).
[^3]: *Ray v. Rose,* 535 F.2d 966 (6th Cir. 1976).
[^4]: "Hunt Sons Charge C.I.A. Used Agents To Embezzle Funds," *New York Times,* July 22, 1975; Hurt, Harry, III. *Texas Rich: The Hunt Dynasty from the Early Oil Days through the Silver Crash*. W.W. Norton, 1981, pp. 356-359.
[^4]: *Ray v. Rose,* 491 F.2d 285 (6th Cir. 1974).
[^5]: "Hunt Sons Charge C.I.A. Used Agents To Embezzle Funds," *New York Times,* July 22, 1975; Hurt, Harry, III. *Texas Rich: The Hunt Dynasty from the Early Oil Days through the Silver Crash*. W.W. Norton, 1981, pp. 356-359.