Ramirez Again Seeks New Attorneys; Case Delayed

Declaring that “I want these lawyers,” an agitated Richard Ramirez interrupted a judge Tuesday as she questioned the qualifications of two San Jose attorneys who are seeking to take over the suspected Night Stalker’s defense.

In an unusual hearing in Los Angeles Municipal Court, Judge Elva R. Soper said from the bench that she had informed Ramirez, during a meeting in her chambers, that the new attorneys he wants to hire do not have enough legal experience to meet the standards for defense lawyers who are appointed at public expense.

In addition, Soper said, the lawyers--Arturo Hernandez, 31, and Daniel Hernandez, 41--have both been cited for contempt by judges in Santa Clara County.

Between them, the Hernandezes, who are not related, have been practicing law for about six years.

Because of the continuing dispute over legal representation, Soper again indefinitely postponed what was to have been the occasion for Ramirez, 25, a drifter originally from El Paso, to enter pleas to the 14 murder charges and 54 other felony counts with which he is charged.

The judge delayed until Thursday a final decision on Ramirez’s request for the new lawyers. She also appointed an independent attorney, Victor E. Chavez of Los Angeles, to review the Hernandezes’ proposed contract with Ramirez and to advise the defendant about his choice of counsel. The Hernandezes refused to discuss how they will be paid.

“The case at bar is not the usual case,” Soper said. “It is the duty of the trial judge to protect the defendant’s right to a counsel who is effective.”

The judge also noted that on Oct. 9, less than two weeks ago, she granted Ramirez’s request to substitute a privately retained attorney, Oxnard lawyer Joseph Gallegos, for the Los Angeles County deputy public defender who had represented Ramirez since his arrest in East Los Angeles on Aug. 31.

Even though Ramirez has been in custody for seven weeks, he has yet to enter pleas to the charges against him, largely because of the uncertainty over who will represent him.

“This court not only has a duty to the defendant,” Soper said, “it also has a duty to see that this case is brought to trial in a speedy manner. It cannot be done if at every hearing the defendant requests a new attorney.”

Three Interruptions

Three times, Ramirez, bobbing his head and bouncing up and down on his feet as he stood in shackles, interrupted the proceedings in a loud, bold voice to register his displeasure.

Minutes after he told the judge, “I want these lawyers,” Ramirez reacted angrily to a suggestion by Deputy Dist. Atty. P. Philip Halpin that the defendant confer with Gallegos, who remains the defense attorney of record.

“I don’t want to confer with him,” Ramirez shouted.

Later, when Halpin suggested that the Hernandezes had no standing to speak to the judge, because they have not yet been appointed, Ramirez yelled, “They do to me.”

Halpin said later that he is concerned about the delays. Already, the prosecutor said, one witness, whom he refused to identify, has died of natural causes.

“We must go forward,” Halpin said. “And if we come to an impasse, we must enter a plea of not guilty for the defendant and we must set the matter down for preliminary hearing.”

In court, Daniel Hernandez told Soper that he objected to her decision to make public some privately discussed information about the San Jose lawyers’ qualifications.

‘Speaks for Itself’

Outside court, the lawyer added, “We’ve been requested by Mr. Ramirez, and California law states that he is entitled to the attorneys of his choice. The California Bar has admitted us to practice; we have ample experience. I think, perhaps, that speaks for itself.”

Hernandez said he has practiced law for 3 1/2 years, and his associate, Arturo Hernandez, was admitted to the bar about 2 1/2 years ago.

Daniel Hernandez suggested that the contempt citations in Santa Clara County involved minor matters and that they demonstrate that the two men are aggressive attorneys who will work hard for their client. He also noted that the legal qualifications cited by Soper apply only to court-appointed attorneys, not to those hired privately.

Ramirez’s mother, Mercedes Ramirez, 58; sister, Rosa Flores, 30, and brothers Julian , 37, and Robert, 34, watched the proceedings from the packed spectators’ gallery.

Flores said the family traveled to Los Angeles on Monday to visit Ramirez in Los Angeles County Jail, where he is being held without bail, and to “show my brother we are behind him.”

She also said the family is “here to back the lawyers of our choice,” the Hernandezes.

Flores said her brother decided that he no longer wanted Gallegos to represent him after learning that Gallegos was placed on probation for five years in 1976 for shooting a suspected prostitute in the hand after a dispute. Gallegos has maintained that he informed Ramirez about his brush with the law before he was retained.

The Hernandezes said they were recommended by San Francisco attorney Melvin Belli and El Paso lawyer Manuel Barraza, who had been retained by Ramirez’s family shortly after his arrest.