Ellis Rubin-Lionel Tate

[edit] Lionel Tate
Rubin was hired as the fourth attorney for Lionel Tate, who at that time was on probation for the murder of a playmate, six-year-old Tiffany Eunick in 1999 when he was 12.[15] As Rubin portrayed the scenario, Tate, a 12-year-old professional wrestling fan, was only imitating the sport's body slams when he accidentally killed his playmate. Tate had been convicted of first-degree murder and received a life sentence in 2001 at the age of 14. His conviction received worldwide attention as the youngest American ever sentenced to life in prison. His conviction was overturned upon appeal and he entered a plea agreement that freed Tate in January 2004.
In 2005, Rubin agreed to defend Tate on charges of robbery of a pizza delivery man. Tate pleaded guilty to armed robbery in a deal that spared him a life sentence for violating probation.[16] Rubin threatened to resign from the case, after Tate, without informing Rubin, wrote a letter to the judge trying to retract a plea bargain, a bargain that would have removed the possibility of two life sentences. Simultaneously, Tate claimed his mother physically abused him and that he was now suffering flashbacks and posttraumatic stress disorder. This case was described as "like a soap opera" by a television reporter.[17]
On March 1, 2006, Rubin was the defense attorney in Tate's pizza robbery trial.[18] In April of the following year, Tate filed a motion to have his 30 year sentence vacated on the grounds that his former attorney (now deceased), Ellis Rubin, was incompetent.[19]