Bob Ravitz's leadership remembered by family of attorneys, advocates

Never give up. Never give in.

Two generations of a local family who have either worked for or with Oklahoma County Public Defender Bob Ravitz for nearly four decades will remember those lessons and more when they gather with hundreds of others to celebrate his life Tuesday.

Ravitz, 71, died Jan. 23 after serving for 35 years as Oklahoma County's public defender.

The Eddy family — Rand Eddy, his brother Rust Eddy and their father, Daniel Eddy, all spent time working with Ravitz in the 1980s and 1990s. Rand Eddy's ex-wife, Kindy Jones, also worked with Ravitz.

Rand and Kindy joined the Oklahoma County public defender's office at the start of their legal careers.

Kindy worked at the county's public defender's office from 1985 through 1987 and today leads the litigation team for Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond's civil division.

She worked alongside Ravitz during her first death penalty case in the public defender's office, saying his actions reinforced beliefs she had carried as she pursued her law degree.

"I wanted to be a voice for people who were going through the most desperate times in their lives," she said. From Ravitz, she learned "you had to be fearless and stand your ground for your client.

"He was not afraid to speak out and stand up for folks who needed advocacy."

'Bob had no quit in him'

Rand, who worked as an assistant public defender from late 1986 through 1988, today represents criminal defendants and their families through his private practice and through work he does on behalf of the Oklahoma Lawyers for Families and Children, an organization that represents indigent parties in cases tried at Oklahoma County's Juvenile Justice Center.

Rand remembers Ravitz always taking the time to visit with him about his clients and cases, even after he stepped into leading the office.

"As a public defender, you fight hard, tough, uphill battles, and Bob always had passion for helping" folks who couldn't afford quality attorneys, Rand said.

"You lose a case? You have a rough time in front of a judge? Bob had no quit in him. It just wouldn't phase him. He might get upset for just a little bit, but then he got right back after it, ready to go," Rand said.

How Bob Ravitz helped set the course for another Eddy family member's career

The next Eddy to work for Ravitz was Rust, who was hired into the public defender's office as a documents messenger.

Shortly thereafter, another attorney on Ravitz's staff who was handling death penalty cases convinced the public defender to create a mitigations specialist position on his staff, which Rust was promoted to fill.

A mitigations specialist researches death penalty defendants' lives looking for any types of mitigating circumstances that might save them from being sentenced to die, he explained.

In that role, Rust worked on a case involving Byron Keith Cooper, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to die in 1992.

Ravitz successfully argued to get Cooper's conviction overturned before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996.

Ravitz's decision to put Rust into that role fundamentally changed the trajectory of his life, he said.

"At the time, only a handful of public defenders' offices across the nation had mitigations specialists," said Rust, who went on to do the same type of work for the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System.

"I was bouncing around as a young adult, not really sure what I was going to do with my life, and he gave me a career," Rust said. "He changed the course of my life for the better.

"I don't regret one minute of my 25 years working as a mitigation specialist, but I don't miss one minute of it, either. It was a very important, very valuable and very stressful career," Rust said.

Rust said he will always remember Ravitz as a passionate advocate for Oklahoma County's least fortunate.

"He was both a champion for legal rights and he was a politician that got a lot of stuff done. He built an empire."

Shortly after Rust left Oklahoma County's public defender's office, Ravitz hired Daniel Eddy, Rust and Rand's father, to take Rust's place.

Daniel, a minister who previously had served as the president of Planned Parenthood in Oklahoma City, worked in the county's public defender's office until he died in 1994.

'He made me feel at home'

Most recently, Jess Eddy, Rand and Kindy's 34-year-old son, dealt with Ravitz through his work as a local community organizer speaking out about Oklahoma's death penalty law and various other criminal justice issues.

"He always made me feel at home, like I was a member of the public defenders' family," said Jess, who said Ravitz would always take time to counsel him about the best ways to pursue an issue.

"He knew what was really going on, and so his advice was invaluable to a young man like me, who was just trying to help," Jess said.

"A lot of people will say, 'We shouldn’t be judged by our worst moments,' but not many actually lived up to that principle. Bob did," Jess said.

Generations of the Eddy family will forever remember Ravitz's huge impact on their lives and are grateful to have known him as a friend.

But Ravitz will be remembered by most as a man who, above all, strived to help those who need it most, they also said.

"While he will be missed, he developed an army of outstanding public defenders and defense attorneys who are carrying out his calling. His legacy will live on," Kindy said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Attorneys remember Bob Ravitz's impact on their lives and careers