Santa Monica

As mentioned  in an earlier writing, LA was huge and the DA’s Office covered a lot of area with Branch Offices scattered through LA county as mini DA’s offices known as branch offices composed of a Head DA and then a senior deputy and a three or four trial deputies. including area offices that could come under the control of the branch office. As an example, the Huntington Park office, together with some other area offices, would file their felonies in the area office and if there was enough to put the accused to trial, the case would go to the branch office for further proceedings, such as pleas, motions, trials and sentencing. This made sense as jurors within the Branch Office area would hear the case rather than picking juries from all over the county. Thus people living in Lancaster would not have to go to Pomona or Long Beach to serve

Well after a stint in the main courthouse downtown DA’s, I was in trial almost every day, as the rule was once the case being tried went to the jury for deliberation, the court would open up for the next trial. I finished one trial at 1:00 PM, and I would start picking a jury on the next case.

Well I got lucky and got a transfer to the Santa Monica Branch office which covered Santa Monica, West LA, Beverly Hills, Ocean Park and Malibu. It was a sweet and sought-after assignment. My immediate supervisor was Art Alarcon. Art had a fabulous career. He was a sharp and smart lawyer. As an example, in 1956 there was no 4th amendment bar to admit evidence obtained as a result of an illegal search and seizure until the California Supreme Court on a case where the police just went too far in ransacking and terrorizing the occupants of a residence and developed an evidentiary rule of suppression just as it was done in Federal Courts. People v Cahan was the case name. Art was given the task of developing a volume covering the law based on Federal cases throughout the US. which he did and the book was published, copies given to all deputies and also distributed to other counties’ DA’s Offices. His storied career rose to where Governor Pat Brown appointed Art as his clemency secretary ( I mentioned Art in my blog about Billy Wesley Monk’s commutation hearing earlier) and later Art was appointed as the governor’s Executive secretary, subsequently appointed to the LA municipal court and ended his career as an appeals judge on the 9th Circuit court of appeals, which is one step below the US Supreme Court. I told you earlier the deputy DAs I was lucky to work with when I first entered the Office were giants in the profession. They taught me as an example how they worked, how they took their obligation as prosecutors to be fair and act in a quasi-judicial manner.

The Santa Monica Office had the usual bunch of low-grade felonies with an ocassional major crime. I was now married, living on Reeves Drive in a nice four-unit type of residence in Beverly Hills, a short drive to the Santa Monica Office. My wife and life partner was now with child. When her time came to deliver, I had been in trial and it was closing up with the final argument left to present. I had inherited the case, an assault with a deadly weapon, when it was supposed to be tried by a colleague, Steve Crossman, but he got tied up with another case, so I took it. So when my wife Maxine was in labor and we are now at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, I called the Court, explained the situation and gave my excuse to put the case over until after the birth of my first child. No such luck. Do you remember my comment earlier on tough judges? This one said you have to come and finish your argument and the Court would send Joe Chandler, another Deputy DA, to hold my wife’s hand. This was not going to work.  I wasn’t going to leave Max with a stranger, and I did not want to be found in contempt and do some custody time.  So, I got an idea, suggesting they get Steve Crossman to argue the case as he was familiar with the facts. That idea was sold. Steve argued and the jury convicted. So, who gets the credit for the win? I insisted it was I, and Steve demanded the credit. It was never resolved

One of the plumb assignments: A little court-house in Malibu. A pleasant ride along the coast to a small courthouse with a few cases to try, mostly  DUIs. Finish work, stroll on the Malibu Pier and  a nice ride back with mileage pay. DUIs in those days were not as easy to prosecute as today. The break-off blood alcohol was o.15 %  and there was no driving with a certain percent alchohol in the system, plus no organizations decrying driving drunk. So Joe Ball was  power in LA County. If you wanted a judgeship, you would have to clear it with Joe (ask Art Alercon) Well, he had one of his rich clients caught on a DUI in Malibu and I was assigned to try the case. The facts were not great for the prosecution but I was expected to forge ahead. Joe’s client testified to his evening drinking pattern. At the time the use of credit cards was in its infancy with the most popular being “Diners Card.” I got the idea Joe’s client probably paid by credit card and the rules of privacy was not what they are today. So, I called Diners Card, gave them the date of the arrest, the name of the customer, and sure enough, he had a lot more to drink than he testified to. Diners Card sent me a copy of the bill with the client’s signature. I did not bother to hit the client by cross-exam, just showed the billing to Joe and he folded and had the client plead guilty to the DUI with the usual fine.

As far as I know, that was the first time a credit card was used to establish an act necessary and relevant to an issue in a criminal case.

Enough for today

Marshall