0001.59
RESOLUTION IN MEMORY
OF THE LATE
E.E. ¡BO\ EDWARDS, III
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas
September 28, 1943
Admitted to Practice
Before the Supreme Court of Tennessee 1971
Died at Nashvile, Tennessee
December 14, 2004
Bq was the first son of Elbert Edwin and Libert Aloyce Edwards. He was bom in Little
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Rock, Arkansas, on September 28, 1943, and raised in McKenzie. His father, a family
physicia~, was called Dr. Ebb, or sometimes "Ebbo." The nickname (Bo) stuck to Dr. Ebb's
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son all o~ his life.
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After typical small town experiences such as school, Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout),
football) basketbalL, and band, Bo graduated from the McCalle School in Chattanooga,
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and enrolled in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil where, in 1965, he completed
his Bachelor of Arts Degree with honors, as a Morehead Scholar. Bo was drawn to the
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political arena, in which he spent the next three years, working on the Tennessee
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Governpr's Staff as legislative liaison, as Assistant Director of the Tennessee Democratic
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Part, ahd then as a staff assistant for Senator Albert Gore, Sr. in Washington, D.C., before
taking t:he position of coordinator for the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy in
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the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Robert Kennedy's death in 1968 hit Bo hard. He
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tempo~arilywithdrew from the political scene and enrolled in Vanderbilt Law SchooL from
which he graduated in 1971.
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After three years as an Assistant D.A. in the Offce of the District Attorney of Davidson
County, Tennessee, Bo found his calling as a criminal defense lawyer and for the next 30
years devoted himself to the defense of the èitizen accused, to fighting for those whom
he believed were the victims of abuse from ovarreaching government power, and to
organizations which were dedicated to those causes.
In 1974, the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL) was just
getting started and needed ci leader. Bo became that leader and devoted his
considerable energy and organizational skil to the development of that organization. He
served as the T ACDL' s third president in 1976 and helped build the foundation on which
the organization has become an active and successful voice for criminal defense. In the
words of James Russell Lowell, liAs one lamp lights another, nor grows less/So nobleness
enkindleth nobleness." All who knew Bo felt ennobled by his friendship.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) was the organization
that Bo Edwards loved and to which he devoted much of his being in the last 15 years of
his life. To understand the depth of his devotion and dedication to NACDL it is necessary
to know the challenges that he overcame to serve this organization. Bo was fortunate to
inherit many fine qualities from his father, Dr. Ebb, but he also inherited polycystic kidney
disease, which often lays dormant until the bearer reaches about 40 years of age, then
destroys the kidneys. Bo' s disease became active in 1982 and he deteriorated quickly, but
his loving sister, Meredith, donated one of her kidneys and Bo's health was restored. Bo
resumed his active practice, continuing to vigorously defend his clients in state and federal
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0001161courts.
In 1991, Wilie Jones came to Bo for assistance. Jones had been on his way to Texas
to purchase shrubbery for his landscaping business, carring a quantity of cash as he
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attemptisd to board a flight from Nashville. The DEA seized his cash at the airport and thus
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began the case that focused Bo Edwards on the injustice of the forfeiture laws of this
country Fmd launched him on a quest to which he, and others, devoted much of the next
ten yea~s. Their efforts culminated in the passage by the United states Congress of the Civil
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Asset Fdrfeiture Reform Act of 2000.
In 1991, Bo initiated the formation of NACDL's Forfeiture Abuse Task Force, and for
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the nexti nine years worked with Rick Troberman, David Smith, and others to attempt to
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chang~ the law of forfeiture. It was an uphil battle, with the Department of Justice
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resisting, every effort that was made. Bo realized that to be successfuL, it was necessary to
educatØ the public and he appeared on the CBS new magazine 60 Minutes and on radio
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talk shows from New York to Los Angeles, explaining the need to reform civil forfeiture laws.
8e formed a close relationship with Representative Henry Hyde IR-IL) then Chairman
of the I House Judiciary Committee and testified before that committee and its
subco~mittees on numerous occasions. The DOJ provided voluminous materials to the
committee
and Bo, Rick and David spent many hours responding to information which
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they b~lieved to be misleading. Ultimately, the first modification of forfeiture laws to the
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benefitlof citizens in more than 200 years became law in 2000. Among other modifications,
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the amended statute changed the burden of proof from the citizen to the government.
This statute is Bo's legacy. Bo had the satisfaction of knowing that he had made a
difference.
The kidney that Bo had received from Meredith began to fail four years before his
inauguration as NACDL President in 2003. Few knew the seriousness of his condition, but
Bo knew that he was fighting a losing battle with the disease. . He never complained.
Former NACDL Board Member Annabelle Hall, who stayed in regular contact with Bo
during his illness, said that Bo made a conscious decision to spend what remained of his
life in the service of NACDL. He conserved his energy to be spent on each meeting and
each project. He was determined to serve in the office to which he had been elected.
He did so with fierce but gentle spirit that had marked his practice and his life. Not only
did he serve, he served welL. During the year of his presidency, NACDL received a grant
from a major foundation to fund the fight against over-criminalization and overfederalization within the criminal justice system. That funding wil provide for a permanent
staff person for the White Collar Crime Project, placing NACDL in the forefront of this effort.
Building on his early state experience with the TACDL Bo initiated the first jointly sponsored
CLE between NACDL and a state organization, partnering with the Texas Criminal Defense
Lawyers Association to produce an outstanding seminar in San Antonio. His leadership in
promoting a better relationship between the leadership of the organization and the
professional staff was appreciated by all.
The ultimate legacy that Bo Edwards left to us is his inspiring personal example that
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we must never give up the fight. As NACDL Board Member Bil Massey of Memphis,
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Tenness~e said, "Even when his
hand was too weak to raise the sword, the fight never left
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his eye.'! As the Honorable Judge Nancy Gertner said, "When Bo Edwards died on
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Decemqer 14, 2004, we lost a dear friend, a colleague, a dogged and innovative
advocate." May we honor his life by continuing the same fight with the same
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determihation that Bo Edwards showed us in his life and in the manner of his death.
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BF IT, THEREFORE. RESOL YED, that this Resolution be adopted at this assembly of the
Memorial Book of our
Nashvilé Bar Association and be spread upon the minutes of the
,
Association.
Date: ! /1-1'7- ()S'
Respectfully submitted,
~-i .tJ.,
Henry Martin
/I~ ~~
Honorable Nancy Gertner
-lJ. /#~
Willam Massey f
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