Judge Decries D.A.’s Role in Lawyer’s Case

A judge has accused Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley’s office of creating an “obvious ethical conflict” in defending a prosecutor who allegedly altered evidence in a West Hills double-murder case.

The office also may not have the legal authority to represent Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Duarte in an upcoming contempt hearing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green said in court papers.

Green said prosecutors should not be involved in Duarte’s defense while they prepare to retry the murder case. Their dual role, the judge contended, raises questions of whether the prosecutors can be objective. But he stopped short of saying Cooley’s office had violated any ethical codes or laws.

Prosecutors say they have done nothing wrong.

“If we thought there was a conflict, we’d withdraw. We don’t see that conflict,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. William Woods, one of two prosecutors defending Duarte.

The prosecutors tried three times to remove Green from the contempt case, claiming that the judge is biased because he made the accusations against Duarte. All the attempts failed.

The acrimonious exchanges between the longtime judge and Cooley’s office follows the botched prosecution of the 1998 execution-style killings of two witnesses in West Hills.

In the contempt proceedings, Duarte, the original prosecutor in the murder case, has been accused of altering witness statements and not telling defense attorneys, in violation of a court order. The accusations caused Cooley’s office to drop its bid for the death penalty for the two murder defendants.

A deadlocked jury led to a mistrial for defendant Randall Williams, 37. A second jury convicted Kenneth Leighton, 38, of first-degree murder in the killings of Jamie Navaroli, 36, and April Mahoney, 25, who were witnesses against him in a burglary case. Green, outraged over Duarte’s alleged misconduct, overturned the murder verdict.

Cooley’s office later removed Duarte from the case.

If Green finds Duarte in contempt, the prosecutor could face a fine and five days in jail for each of 17 allegations. The contempt hearing will be held in two weeks.

It is rare for a judge to question the ethical conduct of prosecutors, said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and a Loyola Law School professor who teaches legal ethics.

“These aren’t frivolous ethical concerns,” Levenson said. “Cooley is directing the defense of Duarte while directing the prosecution of the underlying case. Therein lies the potential conflict.”

In a December court brief, Green said such a conflict was “to the detriment of [the prosecutors’] client, the People of the State of California.”

Green declined to comment, saying judicial ethics bar him from talking about the case.

Cooley also would not comment. His spokeswoman, Sandi Gibbons, said the prosecutors defending Duarte are “not being directed by this office.” She added: “They’re basically working for [Duarte] as if he’s a client.”

There has been “a wall erected” between prosecutors in the two cases, Gibbons said.

Said Levenson: “The difficulty is, at the top, looking over both sides of the wall, is Steve Cooley.”