Charles Addison Gessler[1][2] (May 26, 1933 – April 27, 2019)[3][4] was an American criminal defense attorney who specialized in death penalty litigation.
Gessler handled several high-profile cases, including representing Lyle Menendez, G. Gordon Liddy and Vaughn Greenwood.
Gessler graduated from USC Gould School of Law in 1961, he then worked for two years as a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County, and two years in private practice with friends from law school.
[5] He represented G. Gordon Liddy who was accused of breaking into Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office in 1972.
[5] He also represented Vaughn Greenwood, who was accused of killing nine people, who he kept off California's death row.