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Friday, February 28, 2003

By Marylynne Pitz, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

In Washington County courtrooms, John Solomon fought for underdogs and often represented them for free.

"He was a one-man legal aid society. The only thing is, he was doing it without state or federal funding," said lawyer Joseph P. Moschetta, a friend and colleague for more than 40 years.

A slight, thin man who wore crisply pressed suits and monogrammed shirt cuffs, Mr. Solomon had black hair and a craggy face and stood about 5 feet 5 inches tall.

In dealings with clients and colleagues, Mr. Solomon was soft-spoken, but his demeanor changed in the courtroom.

"When he spoke, you'd think he was 6-foot-10. He had a booming voice," Moschetta said, adding that Mr. Solomon was effective because he talked to jurors like a layman, not a lawyer.

Mr. Solomon, 78, of East Washington, died of pneumonia Monday in Washington Hospital.

Mr. Solomon never hesitated to represent poor, uneducated people, Moschetta recalled. Some lawyers, he said, "tend to brush them off and not accept their cases and not represent them."

"John would go across the street to the courthouse with them. He never forgot who he was or where he came from," Moschetta said.

"He had a sixth sense for advocacy. He was able to persuade people. He was really great at communicating with a client. He gave his advice in a way that was strong but not condescending or patronizing."

Mr. Solomon, the youngest of six children, was the son of Syrian immigrants. His mother sold dry goods and his father worked in a tin mill.

"They worked hard to make sure their kids were educated and spoke English," said Michael Williamson, Mr. Solomon's nephew and the owner of Solomon's Seafood Restaurant in Washington, Pa.

After graduating from Washington High School in 1942, Mr. Solomon enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served as a radio operator and machine gunner on a bomber in the European, African and Pacific theaters of operation. He received the Overseas Service Bar, the Air Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster and Silver Star.

After leaving the military in 1945, Mr. Solomon entered Washington and Jefferson College and graduated in 1949. He earned his law degree from West Virginia University School of Law in 1953. He served as an assistant district attorney, then went into private practice.

Mr. Solomon made a living by defending criminals, handling real estate transactions, estates and divorces, and representing injured people. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he represented the state of Pennsylvania as it used its eminent domain power to take the land of property owners so interstates 79 and 70 could be built.

Anita Prince, his secretary since 1967, said Mr. Solomon treated her more like a colleague than a secretary and discussed cases with her.

"We did many things in the office here that he never even charged people for. We just got along very well. It wasn't even like a boss-secretary relationship," Prince said.

When he got away from his law practice, Mr. Solomon enjoyed trout fishing in Canada or the Gulf of Mexico. He also could be found playing poker with friends or watching the horses at The Meadows racetrack.

Washington County Common Pleas Senior Judge John F. Bell called his neighbor "a very quiet doer. It was just well known that he would do things for nothing."

"John would take on people, be it civil or criminal, and do the work free," Bell said. "I'd say, 'John, are you getting paid for this?' He'd say, 'These people -- they don't have any money. I'm just trying to help them out.' "

Surviving are his wife, Betty, of East Washington, and a sister, Wodea Williamson of Washington.

A blessing service will be held at 10 a.m. today in William G. Neal Funeral Homes Ltd., 925 Allison Ave., Washington. Interment will follow in Washington Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Washington City Mission, 84 W. Wheeling St., Washington, PA 15301, or Washington Christian Outreach, 119 Highland Ave., Washington, PA 15301.