Time Sheets Destroyed in Some Indigent Clients’ Cases

Time sheets submitted by court-appointed attorneys charging relatively small amounts for work with indigent clients were routinely destroyed by a clerk until the practice was discovered 19 months ago, Los Angeles Municipal Court Presiding Judge Malcolm H. Mackey said Thursday.

“Our own auditor discovered it in July of ‘83, and as soon as it was discovered it was stopped,” said Mackey, who informed the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors of the situation by letter.

He said a deputy clerk who processed the billings was discarding time sheets attached to claims for $450 or less. Mackey said he does not believe that the absence of the time sheets will significantly affect inquiries into alleged overbilling by several lawyers.

“These are small amounts and shouldn’t add up to that much,” said Mackey, adding that he notified the supervisors to keep the record straight after Supervisor Kenneth Hahn accused the courts of “sloppy bookkeeping.”

In addition, the judge pointed out, the time sheets and payments were approved by the judges who made the original appointments.

On Wednesday, Mackey told Municipal Court judges to suspend indigent-case assignments to brothers Marc and Curt Leftwich as well as to their law partners, Antonio Luna and Eric Wexler, “pending resolution” of overbilling allegations.

All but Curt Leftwich had been named in a KNBC series of reports on the subject. His name was added because, Mackey noted, the court’s own inquiry showed “possible improprieties” on his part too.

Marc Leftwich said Thursday he felt the judge “had no other choice” but to suspend assignments for the four while the court completes its financial audit. “A lot of judges feel we do a good job,” he said. “The truth is all going to come out.”

The Municipal Court investigation was separate from the county administrative office report that prompted Hahn’s “sloppy bookkeeping” remark and cited three other attorneys as being paid large amounts by the county for indigent work, much of it in Superior Court. Those attorneys have been identified as Charles E. Lloyd, Charles C. Patton and James L. Farley.

Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner said he asked his special investigation division to decide whether a criminal investigation is warranted.