John Morte-imer

John Mortimer, English barrister turned dramatist, has died at the age of 86. His most notable legal decision was getting the Sex Pistols off on an obscenity charge for the use of the word bullocks in their album Never Mind the Bollocks. But he’s best remembered for creating the barrister Horace Rumpole, defender of the accused at London’s Old Bailey in the BBC series Rumpole of the Bailey, starring Leo McKern. Mortimer also served as consultant on left-wing screed Boston Legal, where his legal experience came in less handy than his time in the Communist Party.