Legal Pad

Panel Backs Sex Offender Whose Lawyer Lied

Convicted sex offender Mark Grunau must have thought the wheels of justice were not only turning slowly in his case, but had ground to a stop altogether. And in a way they had.

It seems that for his first eight years in prison, Grunau thought his case was working its way through the appeal courts. But, alas, his lawyer, identified by San Jose’s Sixth District Court of Appeal as one Dan J. Foley, did nothing right after he filed an appeal on Sept. 6, 1996. In the meantime, Foley kept assuring Grunau’s dad that the appeal was proceeding “in due course.”

Today, the Sixth District — which dismissed Grunau’s appeal way back in 1997 after no opening brief was filed — removed the remittitur that terminated the case and reinstated Grunau’s appeal.

Lies, all lies, after the jump ...

Polanski case brings to mind ex parte exceptions

Roman Polanski (Provided to Wikimedia by Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary)

There are a lot of unanswered questions in this Roman Polanski case that has reappeared from the dead, 30 years after the filmmaker fled the country to avoid doing more time for sleeping with a 13-year-old girl.

A former prosecutor who was reportedly taken off the case, David Wells, appeared in an HBO documentary this summer saying he recommended a pre-sentencing arrangement to the judge, which Polaski served, and showed him photos of Polanski philandering with women after the case opened. When reporters followed up on the revelation, he claimed to have said nothing out of open court.

But it may not just be a question of where ...

Remorseless Prosecutor Says Bar Should Back Off

If nothing else, embattled Santa Clara County prosecutor Benjamin Field has chutzpah.

Accused by State Bar prosecutors of abusing his authority by ignoring judges’ orders, concealing evidence and attempting to intimidate witnesses, Field filed court papers recently arguing that at worst he should be given a public reproval. And that amounts to a hard slap on the wrist.

This even after the State Bar in late September stated in court documents that it wouldn’t seek disbarment, but rather a three-year suspension.

“There was no venality or corruption here. There was a very able lawyer doing his job,” Allen Ruby, a partner with San Jose’s Ruby & Schofield, wrote in a post-trial brief filed Oct. 31 in the State Bar Court in San Francisco. “If there is a finding by this court that Mr. Field should have done his job better, or differently, that ought not to transform him into a menace to the public, deserving of ruin.”

Tough Times for Tom Frankovich

San Francisco-based attorney Thomas Frankovich is well known for making his living bringing hundreds of disability-access suits for serial plaintiffs across the state. But times have gotten a bit tough for him recently. He's lost at trial several times, and courts have granted his opponents attorneys fees.

To make matters worse, Frankovich faces a State Bar trial for alleged ethics violations on Dec. 2.

In many a Frankovich case, sued businesses simply settle, say attorneys who have represented targeted businesses. According to Steve Bovarnick, a defense attorney who estimates he's opposed Frankovich in 10 to 12 cases, the specter of losing and paying the plaintiff's attorneys fees has played a big role in pressing his clients to settle, which they have done on each occasion.