The State - News from May 11, 1988

A Merced County judge sentenced attorney Jerry Graham of Sacramento to five days in jail for contempt of court after Graham refused to continue defending Joseph Peter Coleman, 27, who was charged with murdering his live-in-girlfriend six years ago in Yuba County. The case was being prosecuted by the state attorney general because Yuba County officials refused to try Coleman for murder in the beating death of Brenda Ferreira, 24. The trial, transferred to Merced County because of pretrial publicity, had been underway for six days when Graham failed to show up in court and notified Superior Court Judge George C. Barrett he was physically unable to continue the defense. When Graham failed to produce medical records supporting this assertion, Barrett ordered Graham to jail, but stayed the order for three days, pending an appeal. Barrett declared a mistrial and appointed a public defender for Coleman.