Hang in There, Arthur, It’s Not Over Yet

The last time I saw Arthur Carmona, he was being led out of an Orange County courtroom and back to city jail. On that day last June, however, he had a brand-new 12-year prison sentence wrapped around his neck.

Carmona was 17 and had broken down only once during the long afternoon leading up to the judge’s toneless pronouncement. That was while his aunt was testifying that Arthur tried to help his mother provide for his younger sister.

I’d written a number of columns last spring questioning Carmona’s conviction in October 1998 for two armed robberies earlier that year. It was impossible for me to know the absolute truth about his guilt or innocence, but what left me angry and deflated on sentencing day was knowing that the prosecutor and judge who sent him off to prison couldn’t have, either.

Those feelings haven’t been easy to shake. But this week, seven months after that day at Harbor Court, relief arrived in the form of 400 pages of legal arguments filed on Carmona’s behalf.

I don’t know if the appellate briefs will free Carmona. But anyone who reads them will be forced to question with even more intensity whether Carmona was the gunman who robbed a juice bar and a Denny’s restaurant two days apart in February 1998.

The briefs give a much more fleshed-out picture of who Carmona is and how a legal system that aspires to justice let him down. Some of the answers lie in honest mistakes and differences of opinion. Others, I fear, are more darkly rooted.

Heavy Hitters Come to Bat

Now, it’s a long way from Arthur Carmona’s corner of the world to 5th and Olive streets in downtown Los Angeles, where Sidley & Austin has one of its international offices.

The firm, which specializes in representing businesses, has 900 lawyers and operates on three continents. Associate Deborah Muns-Park heard last year about Carmona’s case from her sister, who attends the Orange County church where Carmona’s pastor preached.

Muns-Park wanted to work on the case and suggested to her firm that it handle the Carmona appeal on a pro bono basis.

This week, partner James Harris, who worked on the appellate brief with Muns-Park, explained why the firm took the case.

“We’re deeply committed to pro bono work and try to find cases where we think we can make a difference and there’s something important to pursue,” Harris says. “This seemed to be a case of importance.”

The firm delved into the case and “thought an injustice has been done and wanted to participate in trying to right it,” Harris says. Mindful that the overwhelming percentage of appeals fail, Harris says, “We think we’ve presented a strong ground for reversal here and are hopeful that the conviction is reversed or, at the very least, that he’s given a new trial.”

Ronnie Carmona, Arthur’s mother, has been sparing in her interviews since her son’s arrest.

“This isn’t about Kenny Reed [her son’s original trial attorney who comes in for scathing rebuke in the appeal] or about the cops or the D.A.,” Ronnie Carmona says. “This is about a person’s life.”

She says Arthur, scheduled to be transferred to state prison when he turns 18 next month, has already had to fight to protect himself at the Northern California youth facility where he’s being held.

Shades of Prison

Team Carmona is now trying to forestall Arthur’s transfer to state prison. “We feel at that point, that we’re going to lose him,” Ronnie says. “He’s been struggling to maintain and not be part of the system, but he’s going to have to once he gets to state prison. I’ve told him, do what you have to do to survive, until I bring you home.”

As I’ve written from the outset about Carmona, those are the stakes.

Last June, about 10 days after his sentencing, I got a two-page handwritten letter from Arthur. He thanked me for my advocacy, noting, “I’ll never forget what you did for me.”

Then he gave me an insight that I hope signals the strength that will see him through this:

“I’m angry, but who should I be angry at? Am I angry at my lawyer or my D.A. or the judge? I’m not angry at any of them. They were just doing their job. Maybe I’m angry at the fact that I told the truth but still got found guilty and got 12 years. . . . I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m still going to do all the positive things I’ve been doing.”

This is the first time I’ve mentioned his letter. His mother didn’t think he’d mind me quoting from it.

Now, after spending all night reading Sidley & Austin’s mammoth brief, I think I can offer Carmona something other than false hope:

Hang in there, Arthur. It’s not over yet.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at the Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com