Aug
30
Guilty?!?!
Filed Under Terry Christensen Trial, Pellicano
The last few days of this case were almost like an episode of Benny Hill, and I cannot be the only who feels this way…this would have been at least a “hung jury.” I have received dozens of phone calls as to what I feel now as to my being wrong as to the guilty verdict. Sorry I am not going to apologize to anyone in what I feel was the tone and look of the jury. Is it my fault that the one person who would not be swayed was kicked off the jury? How about jury misconduct? Juror #7 was young, perhaps a little off on his comments, but he was not going to find Christensen guilty! And Team “Get me out of here in time for the weekend” was not going to be coming back to discuss this case any further after today, hell half of them had reservations at Subway.
First day of “In theJury Room,” maybe 1.50 hours and it is “send help,” we have a juror who won/t conform! Day 2,Team “get me out of here” gets #7 booted at about 10 AM and the alternate is brought in, done at 2PM. NOTE: DID ANYONE ELSE SEE HIM PAT THE SHOULDER OF JUROR #9 AS HE WALKED PAST HER? (#9 being a member of Team “get me out of here”). Ok, Day 3, it is not even 10ish and we have a verdict! What kind of review of the evidence did this group of Mr. Christensen’s “peers” do? By my estimate this jury spent less than 7 hours coming to their verdict…and don’t anyone tell me that the activity of Day 1 and Day 2 did not have an impact on all of them, I say it had a great deal, and what about the “alliance?”
My position on this case is very clear, if they convicted Terry Christensen, why not all of the others? However the comments from the legal community are just full of bad words and dagger throwing towards this man and the firm he founded.
I spoke to a number of lawyers and most had very similar responses and one who shared his thoughts with me as follows, “a more miserable bunch could not be found who work for the Terry Christensen firm, they are mean-spirited and ruthless, justice was served” — but then he said, “there is a part of me that feels terrible for Terry and his family.”
Beverly Hills lawyer Cary W. Goldstein had this to say “Hmmm, maybe Christensen wasn’t the lawyer his clients thought he was. He cheated, he had a criminal working for him as a part of his crew. Unfortunately, this was only a warning to the rich, famous and powerful, as well as to their lawyers, that this will no longer be tolerated. Let’s see how successful these egomaniacal dirt bags are at beating up the underdog now. Patty Glaser could not save Terry’s ass because she didn’t have Pellicano’s help. It’s unfortunate that his clients and other lawyers didn’t go down with him!” Note: Pellicano was not convicted of anything when he was working for Mr. Christensen…though he certainly has a very long list of convictions now.
Stephen Kolodny, esquire did not return my phone call for a comment…and on second thought who cares what he thinks?! He was probably busy looking for a snack…I am sure all that jumping up and down after hearing the verdict made him hungry!
Jeff Sklan, a criminal defense attorney in Beverly Hills and I were discussing the jailhouse couture that the Pelican insisted on wearing during his first trial and at this trial — Jeff thought “this is not New Jersey, where that outfit would be a badge of honor.”
Again as brilliant as Anthony Pellicano was at recording devices and their design, he was just as ignorant on how to present himself in good light when it was important. The final blow to Terry Christensen was having this arrogant fool sit only a few feet from him. Every time the jury looked at the well-dressed Terry Christensen they saw the Pelican first, like an albatross around his neck, all dressed in his nice neat prison inmate uniform and his nice little white shoes…oh, and the two U.S. Marshals assigned to “bird watch.”
much insight displayed in your series on this trial…… i assure you that ms glaser is preparing a motion for new trial as we speak. while the standard to overturn judge f’s decision is only slightly lower than mt. everest, rest assured, glaser has no choice but to attempt to scale it.
as you know,i have handled many many issues for attorneys, john. i am pleased to say that almost none attracted any attention as there is not a more despised group ( whose peers, by the way, are not jurors) than my brethren lawyers. ’nuff said….. Jeffrey
acta est fabula
Dont know why you insist on defending, or casting an innocent light on Terry, but you are entitled to your opinion. He had the best legal defense money and friendship could buy. All you can conclude is that the ” adversarial system” (without wiretaps or benefit of illegal conduct) WORKS!!!! It does not matter if it took 7 seconds, 7 hours, or 7 weeks to deliberate. He was found GUILTY! He is a CRIMINAL. Even if the Jury had “hung”; that does not equate to a “NOT GUILTY” verdict. It just means he would have been re-tried!! Nobody has anything nice to say about Terry because “dah” he’s not a nice guy!!!
My attititude on this case is simple, why just one and not ALL the others. If reader #2 will recall I was around in the ‘mid early’ times and witnessed first hand what you went through….that was terrible and as unfair as it gets.
However, would you and all of the others have felt even better if the government had done its job and gone after all of ‘Pellicano’s Lawyers? I still feel that Terry Christensen say what you will was the one to be ‘lynched’ to make a statment to all of the others….and how about this, what do you think that the state bar will do with others who admitted to hearing the tapes.
One other thing, how about the dozens who were involved and given deals…..I know that statutes had run, give me a break….Maybe Christensen is not as rich as some of these other people were and had to pay with his name and his career…that is what is unfair.
I dont want lunch, I would rather dinner…..
John
And thanks Jeff for that, if I had a log for every lawyer that has said bad things about this group I could build a four bedroom log cabin in Tahoe!
And fair enough, but I am a firm believer that in the business of practicing law and investigations that we should all be careful at what size rock one throws….
Not a question that Ms. Glaser and Mr. Bowers are doing what they need to do.
How about dinner?
John
I did not return the telephone call because I was taking someone’s deposition all day Friday. If you had listened to the audio recordings you would wonder why it took the jury 3 days of deliberations. Christensen and Pellicano laughed and joked about what they were doing - it would have been pretty hard for anyone to think Christenson did not know what was being done when he and Pellicano discussed the cost of re-establishing the tap if it came down when Christensen went on vacation to Europe. Justice was only partly done - the others who defiled the judicial system with Pellicano escaped prosecution for reasons not clearly explained to others outside the office of the US Attorney. These people know who they are, their “legal skills” perhaps now diminished because they are not listening to what the other side is saying and planning. My thanks to a dedicated team in the US Attorney’s Office that stuck to this arduous task.
Stephen A Kolodny
Los Angeles
Thank you Stephen for your comment…..I am going to go splash water on my face to see if I am awake! I apologize as whoever answered the phone did not tell me you were in a depo. As to that ’select’ group who had access to those ‘very special skills’ that Anthony provided we will all see very soon how good they are at practicing law on the merits. Well said Mr. Kolodny.
Hey how about dinner…..you buy?
John