FRIENDS

Today is April 2, 2018, clear, sunny and just beautiful, but the mood in the country is bleak.  President Trump is getting into a “Twitter” war with the online giant, Amazon, and according to the news, the stock market has lost over 500 points due to the Twitter announcements. That is not good for me or other retirees whose income is based on IRA or 401 K accounts. Who needs this?  Not me, or others who planned their retirement income and no longer have other income. Hope the market straightens out quickly.

I mentioned in earlier blogs how conservative Orange County was when I opened my office there in 1965. Well, not much has changed, except the Democrats have increased their voting numbers, but not enough to make much difference. The latest issue confronting the country among others is illegal immigration, primarily from Mexico and Central and South America. Parts of the USA, like California and certain Cities, such as San Francisco, have an immigration policy where the local law enforcement is, by law, statute or ordinance, bound not to get involved with the arrest and deportation of illegal aliens, those individuals who came into the country illegally and have no right to remain. Actually, those who have been caught, deported and return have violated Federal Law and, if caught, face prison. The State or City Laws prohibiting State and/or local law enforcement from cooperating with Federal Immigration and Custom Agents, called Sanctuary States or Cities, have created a divide between the Central Federal Government and those cities or states. Litigation is pending between the Feds and the states. There are a bunch of illegals, sometimes called by the sanctuary states, as “undocumented” or Dreamers, who were brought to the US at an early age seeking some kind of clemency and a pathway to citizenship which is presently an issue at this time. Also, local law enforcement is forbidden to cooperate with the Feds except when they are dealing with illegals with bad records of crime and violence. Locals cannot hold illegals or notify ICE of the arrest and pending release date unless there is an arrest warrant for the subject.

Well, Orange County is still the same, and the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 5 to join a Trump law suit to declare the so-called sanctuary laws unconstitutional, reverting back to the old conservative Republican ways.

What is my take on the subject? Well if it is a crime, not just illegal, to be an undocumented alien, then it would seem, unless otherwise changed, that the lack of cooperation between the Feds and the States doesn’t make sense. However, going back to the 1860s, when slavery was the law of the land and states were obligated to render up runaway slaves back to their original states and owners, many resisted such a law and the country ended up in a Civil War over slavery and also cotton tariffs. Remember your history?

My point is how does the country deal with immigrants who were brought to the US as infants and have been hard-working tax paying people? Don’t know the answer, but lean to allow those people to have an avenue towards citizenship. The local policy of noncooperation is basically a local law enforcement problem.

 

 

 

George Gaston, the San Francisco DA, wrote an article years ago about the necessity of obtaining trust among the legal law -biding Latino community, when he was Chief of Police…

I am bad. I didn’t finish this blog, and today’s date is quite a bit later. The title of this blog is ‘FRIENDS,’ and I got sidetracked with what is going on in America, what with the slaughter in Parkland, Florida and the young high school students’ demonstrations against firearms. I don’t believe I have seen anything like it in all my adult life, but back to the blog:

It is hard to explain how I, a criminal defense attorney, became friends with the prosecution side of the criminal justice system.

Jim Enright, then the chief deputy district attorney, was about 5’10” a little overweight, had black hair and a good presence, and was smart as hell. He was, and is, my age and as far as I know, still kicking. Jim was from New York City, raised in a strictly Irish home and, in his day, was quite an athlete. He played basketball and baseball. Went to NYU and was a guard on the university’s basketball team. (In those days, a five foot ten basketball guard was not unusual. The UCLA champion teams had some players that size. Wouldn’t work today, when the likes of people like Magic Johnson, at six nine, took over the game.) I don’t know how we became friends. My first memorable encounter with Jim was when I was appointed to represent a defendant who had been previously convicted of murder when the accused, fleeing from a robbery scene, crashed into a high school bus carrying a group of students at an intersection, killing a young girl and severely injuring some of the other teenage passengers. The defendant had been convicted and sent to prison, but the conviction was set aside on appeal. I can’t remember why at this time. I was appointed as his new attorney and took over the defense. The original prosecutor for some reason as well as the whole DA’s Office was recused (kicked off the case) and two green deputies from the State Attorney General’s office took over the prosecution. The case was sent out for trial and we proceeded with the trial. Things were going pretty good for the defense, and a deal was worked out where the judge would determine whether the offense was murder or manslaughter, and the defense could ask for a probationary sentence based on the any years the defendant had spent in prison. Client liked the deal, so we took it and would concentrate on trying to keep the matter local and keep him out of prison. So, we started a court trial and if convicted, probation looked good. Behind my back, Jim, who had been following the case, called the Chief Deputy Attorney General, Ed James, a decent guy who I knew well from my earlier prosecution days, and told Ed I was killing his two deputies and begged Ed to personally take over. So, on the last day, Ed shows up, takes over the case, and when the judge warmly greets Ed as follows, “Why Mr. James, it is good to see you,” I knew we were going to get the shaft, told my client so in so many words and we went down, but not for felony murder, that is, a killing that took place as a result of a robbery, but a compromise between murder 1st and manslaughter- murder second, which carries a lot less than murder first, and the client came by my office shortly thereafter, telling me he had been released and thanked me for saving him from a life in prison. That was nice, but I still would have liked a manslaughter verdict, but Enright saw to it, no such luck. I mention that case to illustrate that, though the defense and prosecution could and should fight tooth and nail, we could, after court, still get along and lift a few glasses and get along with each other. Another example has to do with Ron Butler, the Orange County Public Defender, who got wind of a prospective client who had been arrested out of state on a murder charge. Ron went out of state before being officially appointed, to “lawyer up” the accused before the prosecution had a chance to extradite the accused and question the arrestee about the case. Jim Enright went ballistic and brought a motion to have Ron Butler found in contempt and possibly lose his job as Ron worked at the will of the County Board Supervisors. Bob Brody was then working in my firm, and was called as a witness on behalf of Ron at the hearing. That night, Bob and I went to one of the local bars for an after-work refreshment and bumped into Jim Enright, who was in a foul mood and accompanied by another character, John Gier, who was one of the DA’s investigators. It wasn’t fun. In a short minute or two, Jim started on Brody who reciprocated and the next thing I knew, I was holding Brody and Gier corralled Enright. We got out of there. As a sidelight, the Board of Supervisors appointed me to report on whether Ron Butler’s protecting a prospective client was proper and lawful and whether Ron should be discharged for his conduct. After research with cases and law review articles, it was clear Ron’s conduct was not only lawful and proper, but he had an obligation to do what he did. My report ended the matter, and I received a Citation of commendation from the Board of Supervisors which I proudly have today.

With the above, wouldn’t it seem Jim Enright, myself, and Ron Butler would have nothing to do with each other?

I don’t know how it ever happened, but every Sunday, without fail, I would join my golf foursome for a round of golf at Green River Golf Course located where Orange and Riverside Counties meet. We were the first group to tee off, around 6:30 or 7:00 AM. My foursome was Jim Enright, John Gier, myself and the presiding judge, Byron McMillan  (Byron later became y associate/partner,) and right behind us was the Ron Butler foursome consisting of Ron, Dan Dutcher, who became a municipal court and superior court judge and two others from the public defender’s office who I can’t remember. After the round of golf, both foursomes would meet in the lounge in the club house, settle up our bets to determine which foursome had to pay for a round, and the beer would flow. How do you explain the weird relationship??

That was Orange County. This brings me to a story I was recently told by one of Orange County’s premier criminal defense attorneys, Stephan DeSles, located in Fullerton. Steph told me he gave a lecture to a group of lawyers and recounted when he was a brand-new attorney, he thought it would be great to go to the courthouse and watch what the old-time trial attorneys would do in presenting their case and arguments. So, he noted Eddie Freeman, a veteran prosecutor, and Marshall Schulman were arguing before one of the judges. The two combatants were really going at it fiercely at each other and very unpleasantly. Wow, he thought, so this is how it is done. Those two guys really hate each other. So, after court, Steph goes to the local watering hole, “The Plank House” orders a drink, starts to sip it, when he looks up and there is Schulman and Eddie Freeman walking in, arm in arm, best friends. Steph was stunned, but the lesson was not lost; one can fight like the devil in court, but afterwards, carry no grudges.

I have more on Enright, McMillan, Gier and others on future blogs, but the is enough for today.

Marshall