Judge Convicts Deaf Man in Gang Killing

Concluding an unusual and complicated case, a hearing-impaired judge on Thursday convicted a deaf man of second-degree murder in the shooting of another deaf man during an apparent gang-related dispute.

Stalling what promised to be a lengthy trial with a host of sign language interpreters, Val Lamar Smith, 23, of South-Central Los Angeles agreed Tuesday to waive his right to a trial and let a judge decide his fate.

Going into Thursday’s brief hearing, Smith understood that he would almost certainly be convicted in a procedure technically called a “submission on transcript,” but generally known as a “slow plea.”

After reviewing transcripts and other documents, Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Michael J. Farrell, who has less than 50% hearing in both ears, found Smith guilty in the Jan. 10, 1992, slaying of James E. Powell Jr., 27, in a Van Nuys apartment.

The judge sentenced Smith to 15 years to life, and then asked the defendant to take advantage of any opportunity he finds in state prison.

“I’ve got to think there’s a lot of good in you and you can build on that,” Farrell said.

Smith agreed to the seldom-used “slow plea” because he plans to appeal the case based on a key evidentiary ruling.

“The defendant admits nothing,” defense attorney Tony Bryan said. “It is understood the court was probably going to convict.”

As a jury waited in the hallway Tuesday for opening statements, Smith said he would forgo a trial after Farrell ruled that a damaging confession given to police could be admitted as evidence.

Bryan fought for seven days to keep the videotaped statement out of court, arguing that Smith clearly invoked both his right to remain silent and his right to a lawyer.

Farrell agreed that Smith asked for an attorney, but he ruled that police did not understand his request because of “an ambiguity” created by a sign language interpreter.

Smith eventually told police that he fired two shots into Powell’s leg and body, but insisted that he did not fire the fatal shot to the victim’s head.

The defense attorney maintains that the American Sign Language interpreter needed a second interpreter to translate Smith’s use of sign language slang.