Lawyer Wants Jury Data on Assemblyman Kept Secret

A lawyer for Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange) said Monday that he will try to keep secret the grand jury testimony that prompted Lewis’ indictment on charges of forging former President Ronald Reagan’s signature on campaign letters.

Lewis’ lawyer, Clyde M. Blackmon of Sacramento, contended that the transcript, if made public, would jeopardize Lewis’ right to a fair trial. Politically, the transcript could be damaging because witnesses in the case have told law enforcement officials that Lewis and former Assembly Republican Leader Pat Nolan of Glendale instructed their staffs to lie to White House officials about the forgeries of Reagan’s signature.

“My primary concern is to protect (Lewis’) right to a fair trial and not have this thing bandied about in the press,” said Blackmon, explaining why he will try to keep a lid on the transcript, which is several hundred pages long.

State law calls for transcripts to be made public 10 days after they are received by defense attorneys, unless they are sealed by court order. Under that schedule, the documents would be released next Monday.

On Monday, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Rothwell B. Mason delayed Lewis’ arraignment until next Tuesday and agreed to keep the grand jury transcript sealed until a hearing on the matter the same day.

W. Scott Thorpe, supervising deputy attorney general who is prosecuting the case, said his office will oppose keeping the transcripts secret. “The public has a right to know what’s in the transcript,” Thorpe said.

Lewis was indicted Feb. 6 on one count of forgery for his alleged role in mailing thousands of campaign letters in 1986 that bore the phony signature of then-President Reagan. After the letters were mailed on behalf of six Republican candidates, the White House denied that the endorsements were authorized by Reagan or any of his aides.

Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp initially investigated the case and turned over his findings to Sacramento County Dist. Atty. John Dougherty, who declined to prosecute. Van de Kamp then took the case himself to the Sacramento County Grand Jury, which indicted Lewis.

The grand jury heard testimony from nine people, including several political consultants, direct-mail specialists and staff members of the Assembly Republicans Political Action Committee, which coordinates GOP campaigns.

If the transcripts do remain sealed, Blackmon said, he will probably not seek a preliminary hearing for Lewis, at which prosecutors would be required to show probable cause that Lewis had committed the crime. A preliminary hearing would be, in effect, a public version of what the grand jury heard in private.

Lewis attended Monday’s brief proceedings and sat next to his fiancee in the audience as the judge accepted guilty pleas from several defendants accused in burglaries and drug-related crimes. After about half a dozen cases were dispatched, Lewis stood briefly in front of the judge and waived his right to be arraigned within 15 days of his indictment.

Times staff writer Mark Gladstone also contributed to this article.