Tate Trial Breaks For Another Case
Thursday, December 31st, 1970
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 31 – The Tate-LaBianca murder trial was interrupted Wednesday so Charles Manson and Susan Atkins could appear at a hearing in another double name murder case.
This time it was the Gary Hinman-Donald (Shorty) Shea case, combined Tuesday in a Los Angeles County Grand Jury indictment.
The courtroom and the names were different but the scene was familiar:
– Charles Manson, attired in a dark gray suit and wearing a knotted tie and white shirt opened at the collar, was removed from the courtroom for creating a disruption.
– His attorney in the Tate-LaBianca trial, Irving A. Kanarek, renewed his now familiar charge that the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is trying to create prejudice in the minds of the sequestered jury in that case.
Kanarek loudly cited the 14th amendment, the due process law of the U.S. Constitution, and finally asked, “Is this Russia or the United States?”
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Malcolm M. Lucas replied;
“I’ll tell you one thing Mr. Kanarek, this is not the U.S. Senate and you’re not going to conduct a filibuster.”
The hearing on the combined Hinman-Shea indictments was to determine who will represent the four defendants, Manson, “Sadie” Atkins, Bruce Davis and Steve Grogan. Davis and Grogan are members of the Manson “family.”
Manson, Davis, and Miss Atkins are accused of the torture killing of musician Gary Hinman in late July 1969. Manson, Davis and Grogan are charged with the reported murder of “Shorty” Shea, a 40-year-old ranch hand, late in 1968.
After questioning each of the defendants, Judge Lucas individually denied their request to represent themselves. He said to grant their motions would be to deprive them of their legal rights because they are not qualified as attorneys.
Miss Atkins finally said she would accept Daye Shinn as her lawyer, if she could not represent herself. Shinn is her attorney in the Tate-LaBianca case.
But Manson, Davis and Grogan insisted that they did not want any attorney and Judge Lucas said he would appoint counsel for the three. He set a further hearing on the matter for Jan. 7.
Los Angeles County Dep. Dist. Atty. Burton Katz, who handled the combined indictment of the four, pointed out to Judge Lucas that Manson is represented by Kanarek in the Tate-LaBianca trial.
The judge asked Manson if he wanted Kanarek to represent him in the Hinman-Shea case, and the bearded cultist replied, “No, sir, I don’t want any attorney.”
Kanarek asked permission to address the court and pointed out that he was representing Manson in the Hinman case, set for trial Feb. 16.
He charged that the district attorney’s office was trying to deliberately create prejudice by interrupting the Tate-LaBianca trial for the proceedings before Judge Lucas.
“They are attempting to commit murder,” Kanarek cried. “They have violated the law.”
Manson, who had commented several times during the proceeding, spoke up again.
“That’s no new thing, Irving,” he said. “It happens every day.”
Judge Lucas ordered Manson’s removal from the courtroom and ordered Kanarek to make his motion for an evidentiary hearing “without florid comments.” Finally, the judge cut off Kanarek and denied his request.
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