Countywide : Posing-as-Attorney Case Delayed Week

A judge on Monday postponed for one week the arraignment of a man accused of impersonating an attorney and of bilking thousands of dollars from unsuspecting clients.

Harbor Municipal Judge Susanne S. Shaw granted the one-week delay after the defendant said he needed more time to gather the money required to hire a lawyer. Shaw said from the bench that she would not allow the county public defender’s office to serve as counsel because an attorney with that office may be called to testify as a witness for the prosecution.

Shaw’s decision to grant the postponement followed a discussion about the defendant’s identity. Charged originally as “John Doe” because of uncertainty over his real name, the defendant told the judge that he is “Christopher Kennedy,” with “no middle name.”

Some of those who say they were duped have said that the defendant represented himself to them as J. Christopher Kennedy. There is only one person of that name who is licensed to practice law in California--and he has said that he has been inundated with misdirected complaints from clients and other lawyers.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Connie Johnson said after Monday’s court session that Kennedy’s original given name and surname were Jeffery Biddle Smith and that he may have since changed his name. The criminal complaint in the case lists a total of 10 names that authorities suspect the defendant has used. He remains free on bond of $20,000.