Reply
Thu 25 Mar, 2004 11:15 am
From the Philadelphia Inquirer
25, 2004
Man's trial awaits ruling on defender
The murder and rape case hinges on whether a defender will be forced to represent the accused.
By Jacqueline Soteropoulos
Inquirer Staff Writer
Jurors in the rape and murder case of 6-year-old Destiny Wright remained sequestered a second night while the Pennsylvania Supreme Court considered yesterday whether a public defender should be forced to continue to represent the man accused of the crime.
Assistant Defender Andrea Konow has refused to proceed with the trial of Abdul Malik El-Shabazz after he punched her cocounsel, Assistant Defender Fred Goodman, during trial on Monday.
Common Pleas Court Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan found Konow in contempt and jailed her on Tuesday. She was in jail for about six hours until a Superior Court judge released her but ordered that she either proceed or file an additional appeal.
Emergency petition
The Philadelphia Defender Association filed an emergency petition with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday, arguing that Konow should not be forced to proceed because she was "traumatized by the assault on her trial partner... . She could not speak to her client and was afraid of him."
But prosecutors attacked the credibility of Konow's argument.
Her "sudden claims of fear are particularly unworthy in light of the two years she has spent working for and with this murder-rapist... . Now, are we to believe that, because of a single punch causing no injury, counsel suddenly sees her client as a violent man? Many criminal defendants are violent; that is the nature of the work," the District Attorney's Office said in its written argument to the state's highest court.
In addition, prosecutors argued that allowing the Defender Association to step away from the case and force a mistrial would set a dangerous precedent.
"Defendants charged with violent crimes should not be taught that, if things are going badly, they can terminate their trials at will by the simple expedient of punching the lawyer," the District Attorney's Office argued.
Previous case cited
Prosecutors cited a 1998 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling which held that another Philadelphia trial judge was correct to refuse a lawyer's request to withdraw from a murder trial after he was punched by his client.
That trial proceeded with defendant Emanuel Lester bound and gagged to prevent further disruptions. When he tried to shout through the gag, the judge removed him from the courtroom, and he watched the rest of the case on closed-circuit television. Lester, 44, was convicted and is on death row.
Greenspan offered to shackle El-Shabazz after he punched his defender, but Konow and Goodman turned aside the suggestion, according to prosecutors.
Assistant District Attorney Jodi Lobel had just rested her case Monday when El-Shabazz jumped up and smacked Goodman in the face.
Yesterday, Lobel told the judge that the defender's office is turning "more attention to the punch of an attorney than to the vicious murder of a little girl."
Lobel presented to jurors DNA evidence from the 2002 slaying and El-Shabazz's videotaped statement to police earlier in the trial.
If convicted of first-degree murder, the 20-year-old Kensington man could face the death penalty.
The victim's grandmother, Stephanie Corley, called the punch a "stunt" engineered by El-Shabazz and his lawyers in order to win a mistrial.
"I think it's a shame that the defender's office is trying to stop this trial... . The man [Goodman] wasn't even hurt," Corley said. "It's wrong."
Greenspan said she would reconvene court today to await a ruling from the state Supreme Court.
What do you think? Mistrial? Legal servitude? How should the jury be instructed?
Reminds me of a case that happened to someone I know. My buddy was killed by a gang banger and when the murderer was convicted he turned around and punched his lawyer in the face.
Craven--
Obviously Mr. El-Shabazz seems to have "poor impulse control". Some of the betting money is backing the position that he socked his Public Defender to get a mistrial.
I was reminded of a local trial several years ago when the defendant was found guilty of first degree murder, his public defender was mobbed and beaten in the courtroom by the defendant's loyal family.
Note to self: do not become a public defender.
Update in today's paper. El-Shabazz announced that his graphic description of strangling the 6-year-old girl had been beaten out of him--although on the tape he states, "I wasn't treated like a criminal. Y'all treated me like an individual."
He also flipped his (former) defense lawyer the bird.
Closing arguments will be presented on Monday and the case will go to the jury. If El-Shabazz is convicted, he may face the death penalty.
I see their point about precedent. Be violent to your lawyer, get a mistrial. Ooh.
I also see how the lawyers, if they actually want to do their job, don't want the guy shackled since that will affect how the jury sees him.
I think that's the way to go, though. Do violence to your lawyer, be shackled in the courtroom. It'll hurt your chances, but you should have thought of that before doing violence to your lawyer.
Deterrent plus additional safety for the lawyer(s) in one.
As a general comment, though, yuk. We WANT public defenders that are competent -- actual innocent people are accused of crimes and can't always afford lawyers themselves. This kind of stuff means its more likely that the actual competent people will go elsewhere.
Sozobe--
What chills my blood is that El-Shabazz obviously believes that punching his Public Defender should not prejudice the jury. He also seems convinced that recanting a confession and cussing during examination and cross examination are acceptable behavior.
I don't know why he hasn't been charged with contempt of court.
P.S.
Three-four hundred years ago, El-Shabazz would probably have been a big hit in his final performance on Gallow's Hill--and the hangman would probably have opted for the short drop.
The jurors deliberated for parts of three days before cncluding that Mr. El-Shabazz, 20, acted with intent and malice when he raped and smothered 6-year-old Destiny Wright during a girls' sleepover at his sister's house.
They are now deliberating on the penalty.
Mitigating circumstances include:
El-Shabazz was born addicted to heroin.
He himself was molested at the age of seven.
The Defense is hoping for life in prison. El-Shabazz believes that the police, prosecutors and his lawyers are conspiring to frame him for a crime he did not commit.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace