July 19
NEW MEXICO: Judge Says Inmates' Attorneys Can't Quit Death Penalty Case In Santa Fe, a judge has denied a request for lawyers to bow out of defending three prison inmates facing the death penalty, even though the attorneys contend they're not getting paid enough. Attorneys for inmates Reis Lopez, David Sanchez and Robert Young wanted state District Judge Neil Candelaria to let them drop out, order the state to pay them more or dismiss the death penalty against their clients. He denied the motions in a written order earlier this month. The judge noted legal associations have raised concerns over flat-fee contracts in death penalty cases, given the amount of time cases can involve. However, he said the attorneys are experienced professionals, and no one forced them to sign the agreements with the state public defender's office. Attorneys on 2 of the defense teams said Monday they'll appeal to the state Supreme Court. They contend it's wrong to make them pay the cost of a lengthy defense against the death penalty. The inmates, who have two lawyers each, are accused of murder in the beating of Officer Ralph Garcia during a 1999 uprising at the Guadalupe County Correctional Facility near Santa Rosa. Michael Cox, who is prosecuting for the attorney general's office, had argued the state was paying enough to give them the constitutionally required defense. The state has paid the teams $107,500 so far. Young's lead attorney, Billy Blackburn, said that if the state seeks the death penalty against its poorest citizens, it must adequately fund their defense. "Taking someone's life is irreversible," he said. "If you're not going to do that (pay enough), then why have a trial? You don't need lawyers. You could go straight to the execution." Lopez's lead attorney, former public defender Jacquelyn Robins, told the judge last month she would be working for about $40 an hour even with an additional $100,000 expected from the state. She said that's a little more than half of what's needed to pay her overhead. She also said it was disappointing the state used her experience to argue she should have known what she was getting into. "Part of my willingness to sign a contract, which had an obvious problem, is because I believe that is what experienced attorneys should do - that when there is a difficult case that takes a certain amount of expertise, then we should lend a hand," Robins said. "We should not stand back and say, 'No, somebody else can do this.'" The attorneys have been working under the contract for 5 years, "and we are far beyond what we are capable of doing on the case when you put together the number of hours and the amount of work to be done," she said. The defense teams signed contracts with the public defender that expired in 2001, but they've continued to work. They contend it was understood the state would pay more as the case progressed. Young is to go on trial in November, Lopez next March and Sanchez next May. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: D.A. who led prosecution of Peterson is quitting James Brazelton, Stanislaus County's colorful district attorney who spearheaded the prosecution of Scott Peterson, is retiring from office at the end of July -- 17 months before his term is up -- to take a job in the private sector. Modesto's top prosecutor was right out of central casting with his Western suits, cowboy boots and chiseled profile. He's also been a controversial figure in a county where political scandals are as common as cotton fields. Last year a civil grand jury criticized him for allegedly pulling out his pistol while bragging about wanting to shoot a reporter. He took a national beating in the press early on during the Peterson trial when the prosecution seemed to be floundering. But Brazelton, 63, said Monday that he's having the last laugh. He won his big case, he noted. "I feel like I'm going out on a high note," said Brazelton, whose small- town prosecutors beat the socks off a slick defense team and persuaded a jury to convict Peterson last year of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn son. Brazelton has been district attorney since 1996 and won election twice. He said he was leaving to grab an offer that had come out of the blue. That job is executive vice president of client relationships for American Corrective Counseling Services, which contracts with district attorneys to provide them with restitution programs for bad-check writers. "I'm a little burned out on fighting with the county, I'm tired of the politics and a little sick of dealing with the press," Brazelton said. "I'm currently at the National District Attorneys Association meeting in Portland, Maine, and I'm being treated like a hero out here," he said. "When I go back home, I'll be treated like a dog again. But now I can go out and do what I do best in the private sector and make a whole lot more doing it." Assistant District Attorney Carol Shipley will run the office until voters pick a new top prosecutor in June. Judge Michael Cummins of Stanislaus County Superior Court has said he will run. Chief Deputy Assistant District Attorney Birgit Fladager, one of the three prosecutors in the Peterson case, also plans to run, according to Brazelton. She could not be reached for comment. (source: San Francisco Chronicle)
