Judge Takes Himself Off LAPD Trial, Criticizes Lawyers

The judge hearing a lawsuit that accuses the LAPD’s Special Investigations Section of indiscriminate killings disqualified himself Thursday, saying he could no longer tolerate the unwarranted attacks on his integrity by defense attorneys.

In a written opinion, replete with expressions of personal hurt, U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts accused the lawyers for the city of effectively hounding him off the case “through the use of things taken out of context, omissions and outright falsehoods.”

The suit accuses the Special Investigations Section of following known criminals until they commit a crime--passing up opportunities to prevent the crimes--so the officers can instigate shootouts with suspects.

According to the defense attorneys’ motion to disqualify Letts, he told the mayor of Torrance that “police officers always lie. The officers who are good at lying get away with it, and the ones who aren’t get caught.”

Throughout the case, the judge maintained that all police “adhere to a code of silence,” the attorneys contended.

Although he did not identify the attorneys he was accusing of falsehoods, it was clear that he was referring to Skip Miller, a private Century City lawyer, and Deputy City Atty. Cory M. Brente. Miller represents the mayor, police chief, city attorney and members of the City Council and Police Commission. Brente represents the city and police officers in the Special Investigations Section.

The two lawyers have filed several motions to disqualify Letts, a Ronald Reagan appointee, citing remarks he has made from the bench about police officers. One motion is now before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“In 27 years of law practice, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Miller said after receiving the judge’s opinion. Defending his efforts to oust Letts from the case, he said, “I did what I had to do to protect the legal rights of my clients. This is not something I did lightly.”

As for Letts’ denunciation of the defense lawyers’ actions, Miller said, “Personal attack is not something I have any comment on.”

Brente said he, too, was stunned by the opinion. But he said he harbors “no ill feelings” toward Letts, though he said the jurist “lacks understanding about police work and how police officers have to make split-second decisions.”

Letts said that he came to his decision after months of reflection and that he was bowing out reluctantly because some will misconstrue his withdrawal as a tacit admission that he is biased against the police.

“Of greater concern,” he added, “is the risk of it appearing that if the tactics employed by defense counsel are pursued long enough, and with sufficient vigor, they will be successful.”

He said he never would have considered recusing himself were it not for the fact that the entire case has been put on hold by the 9th Circuit appeals court and that, whatever its decision, the case will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court before it ever gets to trial.

By that time, the 64-year-old Letts said, he either will be retired or on senior status handling a reduced workload.

Until the current appeal, there were three attempts to disqualify Letts. All were rebuffed, two by other District Court judges and one by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Letts said the allegation that he is biased against police “is calculated to produce extraordinary waste of lawyer and judicial resources” and “to deflect attention away from the true issues of the case.”

He said the defense lawyers, “backed by apparently unlimited public funds, presumably spent with the approval of their clients, appear to have combed through virtually everything I have done, on the record or off, during my 14 years as a judge, for the purpose of producing some appearance of truth to the one-sided picture they have chosen to present to their clients, other judges and the public.”

Miller said the decision to file the most recent disqualification motion was approved after careful consideration by the mayor, the police chief, the city attorney and by a 5-0 vote of the Police Commission and a 14-1 vote of the City Council. Rita Walters was the only dissenter.

Before making up his mind to bow out, Letts said, he sought the advice of two judicial colleagues familiar with the case and both expressed the view that being an effective judge requires “a thick-enough skin to be able to handle abuse with equanimity.”

He said he shared that sentiment but that recent events finally tipped the scales. Letts referred, without mentioning him by name, to Raymond Fisher, a former Police Commission president and now associate U.S. attorney general, who has been nominated by President Clinton for a seat on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Fisher is a defendant in the SIS suit.

Putting the appeals court in that predicament could give rise to “misunderstanding, misinterpretation and discord,” he said.