Bob Josefsberg Rises To Jim Morrison's Defense Once Again!

It's nice to see Governor Crist do the right thing and possibly pardon Jim Morrison, whose arrest was more a product of the 60s culture wars than anything especially criminal.

The NYT takes another look this morning, and Morrison's old attorney Big Bob Josefsberg is right there continuing to defend his client to the bitter end:

“Not that I’m saying dropping your pants in public is acceptable,” Mr. Josefsberg said. “It’s not. It’s also not the worst thing in the world that ever happened.”

Hey, I thought there was a genuine factual dispute about whether Morrison drunkenly hung his schmekel off the Dinner Key or not?

Bob continues, reflecting on Jim's clemency chances:

“Jim’s a total loser, in terms of rehabilitation and what he’s done,” he said. “He’s shown no remorse, no sorrow.” 

Admirable honesty, it's true, but wait a minute -- which side was Bob on again?

Bob Josefsberg and the Lizard King!

The NYT gives the legendary Hairy One (I'm talking Josefsberg, not Morrison) the love in this look back at those crazy times in Miami when possibly brandishing a schlong onstage could get you arrested and drop you front and center into the heated culture wars of the 60s (you know, the ones Glenn Garvin continues to fight).

Great interview, here's an excerpt:

Q.

How were you connected to this case, and what were your impressions of Jim Morrison at the time?

A.

I was co-counsel and local counsel. I think I’m the only one from the trial who’s left alive. The defense co-counsel has passed away. Three different prosecutors have passed away, the judge passed away. And Jim passed away. Jim and I were pretty close in age, and we kind of hit off. He was a very nice person. I’ve seen the movie about him and the Doors. Oliver Stone, with all due respect, is a revisionist. In the movie Jim was portrayed as a selfish druggie, and he wasn’t. He was a very nice person, a nice, decent human being with a very good sense of humor. We spent a lot of time with notepads, passing notes back and forth to each other, and he was very perceptive, very bright. He understood everything going on around him. And for the three weeks I was with him, he was sober.

Q.

I realize your perspective is colored somewhat because you defended him, but then how did he go and get himself arrested?

A.

Well, the charges brought against him were that it was 1969, it was a different world. There were all sorts of political and social pressures, as was shown by the immediately following “Rally for Decency,” with Anita Bryant and Pat Boone. People were terribly offended by what he did. And I think it got blown out of proportion, as most things do. It gathered its own steam and fed off itself, and it became an atrocious thing. Not that I’m saying dropping your pants in public is acceptable. It’s not. It’s also not the worst thing in the world that ever happened. I’m not justifying his behavior – I think there was an overreaction.

Bob's being politic.  Jim got arrested in deep "South" Miami for the same reasons Keith Richards got busted in deep "South" Arkansas and, for that matter, the same reasons Easy Rider ends the way it does -- that's just how things were back then.