Never Plead Guilty Blog

As of May 2008, all the action has moved to the new Never Plead Guilty Blog.

This webpage will stay intact but will not be updated becasue all the fascinating new updates will be on the Never Plead Guilty Blog.

The Estate of Jake Ehrlich Sr.,is proud to present this video footage of Jake Ehrlich Sr. on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson which originally aired in 1963:

Welcome to the Jake Ehrlich Sr. Memorial Homepage.  Jake Ehrlich was one of the greatest and most colorful trial lawyers in the history of the American judicial system.

Jake's motto was "Never Plead Guilty."  He was referred to by his contemporaries as "The Master."  This was due in large part to his mastery of law and his overall commitment to excellence. 

Beyond law, he was an expert on the Bible, wrote twelve books, was a successful San Francisco philanthropist, and had several television shows based on his career, including Perry Mason.

Jake was an "Old Hollywood" attorney who represented clients such as Billie Holliday, Errol Flynn, Howard Hughes, James Mason and Gene Krupa. He had friends ranging from Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, to gangsters such as Meyer Lansky.  Jake Ehrlich walked among kings and thieves, and did not differentiate between the two, and serviced both equally.

Jake passed the California State Bar in 1920 and went on to specialize as a First Amendment / Trial / Defense attorney.  To date, he is the winningest attorney in the history of the American Judicial system for saving clients who were charged with Murder in the first degree.  His record is as follows:  Out of 63 Clients that were charged with having committed Murder in the First degree 59 were acquitted and the other four were reduced to manslaughter.

Among his peers, Jake was respected and feared.  His protégés included Alvin Malnik, Melvin Beli, and F. Lee Bailey.  Jake's successful legal career spanned over a half century.  For the last 35, he was the head attorney for the San Francisco Police Officer's Association.

This website was set up by his estate to provide legal scholars' and layperson's alike with fascinating insight into his career and character.  If there is one thing his career illustrates, it is the fact that "Things are almost never what they appear to be."