intoxication defense which he claimed had made a joke of his trial. The federal appeals court ruled that evidence against Zamora was overwhelming and that Rubin had made the best of a weak case; the defense had in fact helped Zamora by focusing attention on Zamora's deprived background. Zamora was released from prison in 2004 after having served 27 years in prison. A Costa Rican national, Zamora was repatriated to that country. TV blackouts of soldout sporting events Beginning in the late 60's as college and NFL football was becoming more popular on television, the broadcasts were traditionally locally blacked out to encourage fans to purchase tickets to the games. Rubin, first fought to lift the blackout of the Orange Bowl Game by jogging from the outside distance of the blackout radius, 75 miles, in Palm Beach, Florida down US Hwy 1, to Miami, gathering signatures on petitions for presentation to the City of Miami Commissioners in hopes that they would voluntarily lift the blackout of the Orange Bowl Game. While initially unsuccessful, eventually, through public pressure and media attention, in April 1970, the Orange Bowl Committee agreed to voluntarily lift the blackout. Having won a victory once thought impossible, Rubin set his sights on the NFL and its commissioner Pete Rozelle. He unsuccessfully fought to lift TV Blackouts in New Orleans, Los Angeles and Miami before he was able to bring the issue before the US Congress in the form of a challenge to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Rubin was able to collaborate with Senator William Proxmire, who was Chairman of the Anti-Trust Committee, and couldn't get his own ticket to the Washington Redskins games. Together, they were able to bring pressure on Rozelle and the other owners of the NFL, to create what became known as the 72 Hour Blackout Rule. Throughout the fight, Rubin had filed over a dozen lawsuits against the NFL and various NFL Teams but in the end, the TV Blackouts were eventually lifted. Bobby Joe Long In July 1986, serial killer Bobbie Joe Long announced that Rubin had agreed to become his new court-appointed attorney for the sentencing hearing for Long's conviction for the Simms murder. At the hearing, Rubin shocked the courtroom by introducing Long's confession to a tenth murder in March 1984. Rubin's tactic was to portray Long as a mentally ill man who needed help rather than the death penalty.