Renowned criminal defense attorney Jerry Berry dies at 68

A legal legend in Naples has died.

Jerry Berry, a criminal defense attorney who took on many of the highest profile cases but never sought the limelight, died Jan. 31. He was 68.

He retired last year from a remarkable 43-year career that included early years as a prosecutor. He was diagnosed with cancer in October 2021.

“Jerry was one of the most compassionate and empathetic people I have ever met,” Circuit Court Judge Shannon McFee said. “He was all about doing the right thing.”

Everyone, no matter the criminal charge, deserved to have someone stand with them in the court room and fight for them, McFee, a former law partner, said.

Berry inspired many young people to pursue legal careers.

“So many people considered Dad a mentor,” his daughter, Taylor Berry, 38, said.

Some of her friends at The Community School of Naples where she graduated became attorneys because of him.

Collier County Judge Janeice Martin, a former law partner, said Berry’s presence will continue to be felt throughout courtrooms indefinitely.

He was instrumental in the formation of specialty courts for mental health, substance abuse and for veterans in Collier.

“It is absolutely part of Jerry’s legacy that we now have multiple courts that exist to treat the illnesses that drive so much criminal conduct, and offer people a way to get help, get out of the system, return to their families, and lead productive lives,” Martin said.

Berry taught classes and presided over the Inns of Court, a non-partisan organization promoting professionalism. He served for a term as president of the Collier County Bar Association.

Berry established and served as president of the Collier County Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

When he was president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, he refused to relocate the annual meeting from New York City one month after the 9/11 attacks because “we cannot let the bad guys win.”

In 2016, the American College of Trial Attorneys selected Berry to join the invitation-only ranks of attorneys, and he joined the group’s equally exclusive honor society.

Later in his career, Berry was board chair for the Florida Innocence Project where he advocated tirelessly for the freedom of the wrongly imprisoned.

McFee said he became an attorney because of Berry, who a year after leaving the state attorney’s office joined defense attorney Mike McDonnell in what is still likely the most notorious murder case in Naples’ history.

He was part of the defense in the 'Benson murders' case

Long-timers refer it to as the “Benson murders” when Steven Benson planted two pipe bombs in his mother’s Chevrolet Suburban in the family’s North Naples driveway in 1985.

Benson’s mother, Margaret Benson, and his adopted brother, Scott Benson, were killed. His sister, Carol Lynn Benson, was in the car and survived to testify against him. He was convicted in 1986 at the age of 33.

His motive for luring his mother and siblings into the car was to inherit his mother's money.

More:Medical Examiner says Benson was stabbed to death in prison

The trial was televised nationally and brought widespread attention to Naples. It was the first criminal trial to be covered nationally on television from gavel to gavel, said Donald Day, a criminal defense attorney in Naples.

Despite the long hours in his career, Berry refused to miss school functions when his two children were young. Even if it meant missing an event to accept an award, and there were many awards, McFee said.

The judges in Collier recognized him with the Donald VanKoughnet Lion of the Law award, the most prestigious award trial attorneys in Collier can receive.

Berry never waivered in his commitment that everyone has equal rights under the law, Day, a former law partner for 25 years, said.

“It was all about making sure the person is getting a fair shake, especially in our area,” Day said, referring to conservative Collier with its strong “law and order” mindset.

They shared a motto, Day said: “A day fighting the government is not a day wasted.”

The job was his passion, Day said.

He always believed that if the defense team was doing its job and the prosecution team was also doing its job, then justice will find its way, Day said.

Berry nevertheless was respected by the government he went up against.

“Jerry was a longtime friend who served us exceptionally well as a prosecutor and attorney, always for the good of our community and he will be missed,” Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said.

There were few high profile cases he didn’t touch

Born in Miami in 1954, Berry received in bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida in 1976 where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.  He received his law degree from Florida State University in 1979.

He worked as a prosecutor in Lakeland where he met his future wife, Catherine Laich, who had gone to Florida Southern College in Lakeland, their daughter said.

They lived in the same apartment complex and met when her mother, an elementary school teacher, was walking her dog. He was coming back to the complex after working late as a prosecutor.

They married in 1980 in Lakeland and moved the following year to Naples. When her mother was still in high school, her family had moved from Connecticut to Naples, Taylor Berry said.

From 1981 to 1984, Berry worked in the state attorney’s office in Naples before going into private practice.  Day joined Berry in 1988 and the practice became Berry & Day.

Both McFee and Martin joined the group which became Berry, Day, McFee & Martin.

“At one time we were the largest criminal defense firm in the state,” Day said. “We only did criminal defense. We did all kinds of cases.”

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McFee said it was Berry’s idea they only do criminal cases, which was unheard of but worked.

“It wasn’t a firm, it was a family. Jerry set that tone daily,” Martin said.

“Our purpose was to help people, whether wrongfully accused or not, who were quite possibly going through the worst times in their lives.

“The legal battles were important, but they were only part of the picture, and Jerry pushed us to keep the whole picture in mind at all times,” Martin said.

One reason for the law firm’s amicable split in 2014 was because of case conflicts among the individual lawyers, McFee said.

“There were probably very few high profile cases that Jerry wasn’t involved with in some manner,” McFee said. “(He) never sought out publicity in his cases. He was very well respected, so ethical in his practice. He served as a tremendous mentor for many, many lawyers in Naples and around the state.”

He impressed his colleagues and the media

Berry was always prepared in court, according to colleagues and the media who covered his trials.

“I was always impressed with his ability,” Naples criminal defense attorney Lee Hollander said. “He was always prepared. He was friendly. He wasn’t particularly in your face but he always got to where he wanted to go.”

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Jeff Lytle, retired editorial page editor at the Naples Daily News, said Berry helped the newspaper understand that everyone accused of a crime is entitled to a vigorous defense.

“He would go out of his way to engage people, such as me at times, who wondered how he could represent so many wrongdoers,” Lytle said. “He could disagree without being disagreeable.”

Denes Husty, a retired News-Press reporter, covered dozens of Berry’s trials through the years.

“Cases ranging from a school bus driver accused of indecent exposure to a mentally unstable father chargedwith first-degree murder in the shooting death of his 9-year-old daughter, Jerry was always well prepared and gave a 100% effort in the defense of the sometimes seemingly indefensible,” Husty said. “He was soft spoken, reflective, scrupulously honest and a pleasure to be around.”

Brent Batten, a retired columnist and reporter for the Naples Daily News, said Berry was a strong advocate for protecting the rights of the accused.

“He believed everyone deserved a vigorous defense and was always on the lookout for prosecutorial abuses,” Batten said. “I was impressed by the way he stood up for the profession of defense attorney, quick to point out their importance to society.”

He was generous with his time and would always offer insights on legal matters when asked.

“The justice system in Southwest Florida will surely miss him,” Batten said.

He looked at his clients’ lives beyond their criminal defense

Besides taking on their defense, Berry talked to clients about their personal situations, how to overcome substance abuse or how to get care for a mental health illness that could mean a new life, colleagues said.

“He talked to clients about ways they could become a better person,” McFee said. “Jerry was a master at that. He would talk to people about making a difference in their lives.”

He never forgot his own upbringing; his father, Grady Berry, was a postal worker, and his mother, Pauline Berry, a store clerk.

He worked his way through college and law school delivering pizzas and taking odd jobs. He sold his plasma to a medical school. While attending UF and later FSU, he played rugby for the traveling clubs.

He remained lifelong friends with many of his rugby teammates, according to his family.

He took many pro bono cases

He didn’t blink twice about taking on clients who could not pay.

“He did so many pro bono cases, he was so committed to righting the injustices,” his daughter said. “A lot of cases he lost money on but he felt strongly about taking them.”

When his two children were growing up, Berry focused on their education, their independence and their own interests. His son, Casey, is 36.

He always found the time to visit them during their college years out of state and that continued during their milestone life events, Taylor Berry said.

He attended Casey’s basketball games at the University of the South where he was a starting player; he arrived at the Nashville hospital when his granddaughter was born, wearing the same trousers and tie worn earlier to his office.

“He always belonged at the kids’ table metaphorically,” Taylor Berry said. “He always believed kids should be kids. It was Dad (at gatherings) who would rough house getting all the kids wound up.”

He played golf every Sunday, initially belonging to Grey Oaks Country Club before joining Hideout Golf Club.

It was on a golf course in October 2021 at their family home in Cashiers, North Carolina, where he felt something was not right, his daughter said.

He went to a nearby emergency room and came to Nashville, where she lives, where he was diagnosed with cancer, she said.

After retiring from his practice, he traveled with Casey to the Masters Tournament this past year and went to Disney World with his wife, Taylor, and his granddaughter, Parker. His youngest grandchild, Harrison, was too young for the trip.

“Despite (his cancer) treatment, we were able to make some memories,” Taylor Berry said.

After his retirement, Berry continued to receive recognitions. The Collier County Bar Association awarded him its Medal of Honor.

The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers dedicated its Tallahassee headquarters to him, renaming it “The Berry Building.”

During his tenure as the organization’s president, he led the effort to acquire and renovate the building.

In keeping with Berry’s wishes, a funeral will not be held. A Celebration of Life will be announced in the coming months. In lieu of gifts or flowers, a donation in his name can be made to the Innocence Project of Florida.

Here are some of Berry’s criminal defense cases that made headlines:

1986 - Steven Benson, convicted for murder after placing pipe bombs a year earlier in his mother's car in North Naples. Margaret Benson and his adopted brother, Scott Benson, were killed. Steven Benson died in 2015 of stab wounds in prison.

1995 – Laine Alan Jumper, accused of killing his 9-year-old daughter in his Golden Gate home Nov. 7, 1995. Berry’s defense was insanity with testimony of his mental illness. Jumper was found guilty.

2002 -Bill Rasmussen, founder of ESPN, pleaded guilty to reduced fraud charges in the failed Stadium Naples golf course arena. Special prosecutors agreed to drop a corruption charge in exchange for his testimony against former Collier County Commissioner John Norris and others.

2005 – Alex Lifeson, lead guitarist for the rock band Rush, arrested New Year’ Eve in 2004 at Naples Ritz-Carlton after drunken skirmish with sheriff’s deputies. Received one year probation. Could have faced up to 10 years in prison on two felony-on-a-law-officer-charges.

2010 -Mahmoud Gad acquitted on sexual battery charge when accused in 2008 of trying to rape his wife’s friend. After his arrest, he spent 14 months in jail before being released with a GPS monitor.

2010 - ­ Sterlin F. Misener Jr. sentenced to four years’ probation after he shot and killed a teenage intruder at his home. Berry used Florida’s 2005 Stand Your Ground Law.

2011- Robert Hamberg, Gulf Coast High School band director, convicted on eight counts of lewd and lascivious sexual battery of a minor under 16. Sentenced to 30 years on a potential 60-year sentence.

2014 -Charles Bullock, Collier County Sheriff's Office deputy, accused in 2010 of molesting a 15-year-old boy at Coastland Center mall. Pleaded no contest in exchange for two years’ probation and surrendered his law enforcement certificate.

2022 - Hector Manley, Parkside Elementary School teacher pleaded no contest on 20 charges of molesting students between the ages of 5 and 12. Berry turned over the case to defense attorney Mike Hopkins after his cancer diagnosis.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Distinguished Naples defense attorney Jerry Berry was a mentor to many