Former Lawyer Again Cleared of Felony Charges

Former civil rights attorney A. Thomas Hunt, cleared in April of criminal charges that he cheated clients, was cleared again Tuesday by a different judge of a new set of felony counts.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Cowell dismissed an indictment that alleged seven counts of grand theft.

Cowell said Hunt, 56, may have violated business and professional codes but did not commit a felony when he accepted fees from clients but failed to follow through on their cases.

The ruling marked the latest turn in a complicated case that has seen prosecutors foiled in their attempts to convict Hunt of a crime.

Defense attorney Mark Werksman said after Tuesday’s hearing that he hoped Cowell’s ruling would bring an end to the court proceedings. “This witch hunt ought to end,” Werksman said, adding, “This judge said, ‘Enough is enough.’ ”

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Anthony Sousa said he and senior prosecutors probably will appeal the dismissal of the indictment.

Meanwhile, one of Hunt’s former clients, Howard Bennett, who contends that Hunt took $6,000 from him but then bungled an age discrimination case against the Culver City schools, asserted: “The system has failed us again.”

Hunt pioneered the use of civil rights lawsuits to fight discrimination. But in the early 1990s, according to court records, he began drinking heavily.

After Bennett and other clients pelted the State Bar of California with complaints about Hunt, the lawyer relinquished his license to practice law in November 1993.

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In 1995, prosecutors filed six felony counts against Hunt. Last April, the three felony theft counts that remained after months of fierce legal maneuvering were dismissed by Judge Jacqueline Connor, who said prosecutors had not proved Hunt had any intent to steal.

Prosecutors then tried again. A grand jury returned the seven-count indictment May 29.