When Bobbie Burns penned “The best laid plans of mice and men oft gang awry” he got that right. Enjoying life, going out, having good times, watching the Giants’ baseball…. I was leaving a game about four or five weeks ago, and while stupidly trying to catch a trolley, I fell, broke my right arm (humerus), went to the emergency, and was hospitalized for several weeks and am finally home and able to do something. What a jerk I am. Well I am sorta back and trying to continue my blogging tales.
The last subject covered Orange County legal relationships during the 1960s and on. I still have difficulty finding a short version of how we of the defense can fight tooth and nail with the prosecution, but still have a great social relationship with the judges and prosecutors. In my last blog, I wrote about Jim Enright, the Chief DA, but forgot to mention that Jim had decided to run for DA based on a promise from the then-DA, Kenny Williams, for support. Kenny could name his successor and the Board of Supervisors would follow up on the recommendation. Kenny changed his mind and supported Cecil Hicks. You may remember I mentioned Cecil in an earlier blog in the prosecution of the Rosotto murder case and my beliefs regarding the veracity of the first prosecution. Anyway, that reminds me of a funny incident. Oktoberfest was a big celebration in Orange County and celebrated at a place called “The Ritz,” a fancy restaurant and bar located near Fashion Island, a shopping mall located in Newport Beach. Great food and drinks on this day, and Jim and a bunch of lawyers and I were in attendance. Well afterwords, Jim and I, wearing our little pointy Oktoberfest hats, came back to my house to discuss Jim’s idea to run for DA. We arrived and there was my lovely wife Maxine who was in a total rage as there we were decked in our German garb. Max threw both of us out shouting how could you behave so badly on Yom Kipper. We survived… barely.
I must have first Byron McMillan some time in the Summer of 1947 at Catalina Island, where we were working, sewing oats, playing beach volley ball and basically just screwing around, but I have no memory of any meeting. I got a job as a fry cook at a beach short order establishment located right on the pier that served the daily steamer ship that brought tourists to the island hungry for lunch, and we had first crack at them. Byron told me, after we met in Orange County, he was at Catalina, working and playing at the same time.
Byron was a LA local, attended University High, UCLA and UCLA Law School. His dad, Lester McMillan, was a State Assemblyman representing the West side . Byron was appointed an Orange County Superior Court judge when I first met him. We became good friends and he represented the third member of my Sunday golf group. I keep trying to explain in Orange County at the time the entire mixture of the legal community was close, but no advantage was given as a result, which reminds me of one of my trials. Nick Novak was a very good prosecutor, but some of us thought him strict, unforgiving, and if he had a sense of humor, we could not see it. Well, I was in trial on some felony, fighting Nick and getting pretty good rulings from Byron when I decided to overreach a little. Nick objected and was sustained. I was a little unhappy with the ruling, so I asked to approach the bench to see if I could get a reversal. At the judge’s bench, I argued my point. I remember very well Byron’s response: if you try to hit Nick in the nose, he gets to hit you back- an example of no favoritism. Byron quit judging in order to increase his income and did a little work for the judicial arbitration and mediation service, the company I mentioned in earlier blogs, did well, but didn’t care for the work, so he tied up with a plaintiff’s personal injury law firm, but that was not for him as well. So, one day he walked into my office wondering if I had a spot for him. Are you kidding? I jumped at the chance to bring him aboard. Within a very short time, he ended up not only as an employee, but his pay with bonuses came very close to an equal split. We did very well financially as well as just being good friends. After eight years or more, Byron decided to go back to judging on assigned basis, still remaining good friends and golf partners. Sadly I received a call early this year, 2018, that Byron passed away, having lived a good full life.
That’s all for now, Marshall
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