Attorney for Manson Filed Against; DA
Wednesday, July 1st, 1970
LOS ANGELES, Jul. 1 – Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Evelle J. Younger turned in the California Supreme Court Tuesday in an effort to remove the attorney for cultist Charles Manson in the Tate-La Bianca case.
Younger told a press conference in his office that he had instructed his staff to file a petition for a writ of mandate ordering Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charles H. Older to hold a hearing on Manson’s attorney, Irving A. Kanarek.
Since June 10, the judge has twice denied motions by the district attorney’s office for a hearing on the lawyer, described by prosecutors as a “professional obstructionist” and “incompetent.”
The district attorney said he is the first to admit that the action aimed at removing Kanarek is new and unusual but he declared that it is necessary to resolve the “crucial issue” of whether or not Manson has been “adequately represented.”
He said it was a matter that could affect the appeal of the Tate-LaBianca case “several years from now.”
At one time, Younger said, courts have considered a choice of an attorney was strictly up to the defendant but that appellate courts in California are becoming increasingly concerned about the competency of lawyers at the trial level.
He said that in some cases verdicts have been reversed because of inadequate representation, even by the attorneys of the defendant’s own choosing.
“We wish to have this issue resolved now — not several years from now,” Younger said. “We will do everything in our power to insure that there is but one trial of this case if there is a conviction.”
Younger declined to specify in what way Manson’s attorney is supposed to be incompetent but he said that if the hearing is granted “The evidence will relate of conduct over a period of time.”
“We are prepared to present testimony from eight judges and numerous attorneys and court attaches that Manson’s counsel has a reputation for grossly obstructionist and dilatory tactics which have been prejudicial to the interests of his clients and to the people of this state,” he said.
Los Angeles Dep. Dist. Atty. Vincent Bugliosi indicated in earlier arguments in this matter that one of these Judges would be Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Raymond Roberts. The prosecutor quoted Roberts as saying of Kanarek:
“Your tenacity is exceeded only by your stupidity.
“You have stated it to the point of ad nauseam. The important thing now is whether or not you are going to be cited to the state bar. You cannot be as stupid as you sound; no one can be that stupid.”
Comment on Younger’s action was not immediately available from Kanarek. However, one of the four defense attorneys, Paul Fitzgerald, reminded the press that the district attorney is a candidate for the pool of attorney general of California.
“We should ask members of public to bear in mind Mr. Younger’s position in evaluating his statements,” Fitzgerald said.
While Younger held a press conference, the slow task of selecting a jury to try Manson and co-defendants Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten went on in Judge Older’s court.
By JOHN KENDALL
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