Lawyer Finally Gets Council’s Attention

The lawyer who won a recent court ruling that ordered the Los Angeles City Council to pay attention during public hearings returned to council chambers Friday and spent 10 minutes chastising members for their “defiant” attitude.

Last month, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ordered council members to hold a new hearing on whether to allow an East Los Angeles strip club to stay open later. The court’s decision came after watching a videotape that the club’s attorney, Roger Jon Diamond, made showing council members chatting on a cellphone, talking with each other and wandering around the room during a public hearing.

Adding to the lack of formality, several council members were wearing tropical-themed shirts because it was Hawaiian shirt day.

The unusual ruling from the three-judge panel made news around the nation, but some council members defended their actions, saying they must do several things at once to perform their jobs properly.

Councilman Jack Weiss, who appears in Diamond’s videotape engaged in a long cellphone conversation, also dismissed Diamond as “the porn industry’s lawyer” and accused him of “bellyaching.”

Diamond objected to those comments, saying, “I was shocked to hear that a number of you were defiant.” Diamond said that his case was about much more than whether the Blue Zebra could allow its dancers to keep gyrating until 4 a.m. “It’s a broader issue of respect,” he said.

Diamond singled out Weiss, saying that the Westside councilman and former prosecutor had personally attacked him and that “for a lawyer to criticize another lawyer for the client he represents is outrageous.”

Diamond has asked city officials for Weiss’ cellphone records, to learn who he was talking to during the hearing that day, and has also asked that Weiss recuse himself from any further decisions on strip clubs that Diamond represents.

Weiss appeared unmoved by Diamond’s visit.

“Mr. Diamond’s presentation reminds me of that great line from ‘Macbeth,’ about a tale of sound and fury signifying nothing,” he said.

As to whether he would recuse himself from matters involving Diamond’s clients, Weiss did not answer, saying that he had “responded more than enough on this issue.”

After Diamond’s remarks, Councilman Tom LaBonge, perhaps the council’s most affable member, sought to make peace with the attorney, commending Diamond for his work three decades ago in saving what is now Topanga State Beach.

He also defended Hawaiian shirts, saying council members had worn them for a good cause, but he did not specify the cause.