Joseph Tony Serra (born December 30, 1934) is an American criminal defense and civil rights attorney, political activist and tax resister from San Francisco.
In 1983, Serra won an acquittal for Chol Soo Lee, a Korean American immigrant in San Francisco who had been convicted of murder in 1973, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
He has also represented individuals from groups as diverse and politically-charged as the White Panthers, Hells Angels, Good Earth and New World Liberation Front (NWLF).
Some of these individuals include Brownie Mary, Dennis Peron, Hooty Croy, Ellie Nesler and Symbionese Liberation Army members Sara Jane Olson,[3] Russell Little and Michael Bortin.
[4] In 2004, Serra won an acquittal during a retrial on murder charges for co-defendant Rick Tabish in the death of casino mogul Ted Binion.
[7] In 2006, Ephraim Margolin and Douglas L. Rappaport represented Serra against the State Bar of California when he faced action for failing to file a tax return.
[citation needed] Serra has five children with Mary Edna Dineen: Shelter, Ivory, Chime Day, Wonder Fortune and Lilac Bright.