Manley Case Prompts Bill Proposal

In the wake of the public outcry over the prolonged search for a 14-year-old Oak View girl whose body was not found for days after her death, Assemblyman Tony Strickland plans to introduce a bill today that would require lawyers to disclose information that might help authorities find a missing person.

Called the Kali Manley bill, AB 1286 would exclude information about missing persons from the attorney-client privilege, which allows lawyers to keep conversations with their clients private.

After Manley was abducted from a convenience store on Dec. 19, a massive search was initiated for her. The weeklong hunt by hundreds of volunteers was prolonged for several days while the attorney for David Alvarez, 22, negotiated with the Ventura County district attorney’s office.

Alvarez finally led police to Manley’s body in a roadside drainage pipe 30 miles north of Ojai the day after Christmas. Alvarez, who remains the prime suspect in the case, has not been formally charged. He is in jail on another charge.

“When it comes to rights, it’s better to err on the side of the victim,” Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks) said Monday. “No family should have to go through what the Manley family has gone through.”

The attorney’s delay in revealing that his client might know the location of the body caused the Manley family to endure anguished days and nights, not knowing whether their daughter was alive, Strickland said.

The freshman legislator is scheduled to hold a news conference at 8:30 this morning at the Ventura County Government Center to announce the bill. Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks, who supports the bill, said he would attend.

“This is not to deprive suspects of their rights,” Brooks said. “But their rights become secondary when someone’s life is at stake. . . . It’s the age-old battle over whose life is more important, a criminal or a victim. And in this case it’s a clear-cut answer.”

Under current law, a criminal defense attorney must turn over any physical evidence--a weapon, for example--provided by the suspect.

“We think it’s time to expand the law to include missing persons,” Strickland said.

AB 1286 would also exclude from the attorney-client privilege information about the identity of a person who could possibly locate a missing person.

“This is important,” Strickland said. “It covers circumstances where the attorney does not personally know the location, but knows that a client does. Without this, an attorney could easily get around the law merely by warning their client not to disclose the location.”

Strickland acknowledged that the proposed legislation would face strong opposition.

“I’m sure this bill will be very controversial,” Strickland said. “Any time you want to touch this area--the attorney-client privilege--you are certainly going to have to put up a fight. This bill I will fight hard for.”