Court Lifts Ban on Appointing 4 Lawyers Under Investigation
Los Angeles municipal judges were told Wednesday that they can resume appointing four attorneys to represent indigent defendants pending the conclusion of an audit to determine whether the attorneys billed the county too much for their services.
In authorizing the continued appointments, judges on the court’s executive committee revoked an order by Presiding Judge Malcolm H. Mackey, who had told judges last week to stop assigning indigent defendants to the lawyers until accusations were resolved.
“It is recognized that the appointment of attorneys is within the discretion of each bench officer,” Mackey said Wednesday in explaining the reversal.
Three of the four attorneys--Marc A. Leftwich, Antonio Luna and Eric Wexler--were subjects of a KNBC news story last week in which reporter Harvey Levin said the station’s investigation showed that they had billed the county for services apparently never performed.
The fourth attorney is Curt V. Leftwich. Mackey said the court’s audit showed “possible improprieties” in his billing.
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