GROUP 9 Casiguran, Roselle U.

Frias, Jerome Bart Pamplona, William Joseph Yang, Gladys Mae 3-S

Legal Counselling

Coke, Lies and Videotape The DeLorean Defense Team Convinces Jurors They Cant Trust Their Eyes Or The Feds.

Background: John DeLorean was the youngest man to ever lead Chevrolet was running DeLorean Motor Company, building his high-tech stainless-steel car. He was married to a former top fashion model named Christina Ferrare and had an opulent lifestyle with their two children. The automotive press was not impressed by the DeLorean; and the English governments $155 million investment had produced an overpriced gull -winged sports car with poor acceleration and unimpressive handling. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy prompting DeLorean to find a way to raise $20 million dollars DeLorean had found an opportunity to make some fast cash with his neighbour, James Timothy Hoffman. However, he did not know that the latter was a drug smuggler turned government informant. A series of meetings were arranged between the two and the federal agents posing as drug smugglers, all but the first was recorded on audio and videotape. Hoffman claimed that at the first meeting, DeLorean said he wanted to invest up to $2million in China White, a form of heroin. On October 19, 1982, the players met in a hotel room near Los Angeles International Airport to finalize their plans. According to the feds, DeLorean was going to finance the importation of $24 million of Colombian cocaine. DeLorean was arrested after undercover agents presented him with a suitcase filled with fifty-five pounds of the drugs.

Finding an impartial juror: U.S. District Court Judge Robert Takusagi refused media requests to release the surveillance tapes, saying that broadcast of the tapes would have a devastating effect on DeLoreans chances of a fair trial. Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine, paid a law clerk $5000 for duplicate copies which he then passed on to CBS news. They were broadcast on national television and a pool of potential jurors saw DeLorean inspect the suitcase filled with cocaine and proclaim it as better than gold and then lift a glass of champagne in a toast for a lot of success for everyone. In an attempt to limit the potential damage, Takusagi delayed the trial for six months. The jury selection began with Takusagi asking the 177 potential jurors to fill out a 42 page questionnaire. So many prospective jurors were dismissed for bias. Even after explaining that they must presume DeLorean to be innocent until and if the government had proven his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecution Team (James Walsh and Robert Perry): The prosecution told the jurors that it was DeLoreans driving desire to succeed and threat of financial ruin that drove him to seek out the coke-for-cash deal. The prosecution told the jurors they were seeing DeLorean caught in the act of being himself Defense Team (Howard Weitzman and Donald Re) Weitzman explained that DeLorean had been framed by a convicted drug dealer and admitted perjurer, the prosecutions star witness James Hoffman. That James Hoffman demanded a percentage of the money seized in the case. That the evidence is certainly is that he was a gun for hire. The videotapes were easily explained: Produced, Choreographed and Directed to make DeLorean look guilty The defense rested without calling Delorean to the stand The only version the jury heard was that told by Hoffman: That DeLorean initiated the contract, brought up drugs, was the moving force behind the deal.

Closing Statements: Prosecution Team: THE VIDEOTAPES Perry pointed out what he called a defense of diversion steering the jury back to the prosecutions strongest evidence: THE VIDEOTAPES. That DeLorean used code words that appeared to refer to narcostics, and of an incident wherein they watched DeLorean discuss financial details written on a scrap of paper, after which the paper was burned. Defense Team: THE LIES Re has a two part strategy: 1. Shift the battleground from DeLoreans actions to the misdeeds of the governments 2. Pick apart and explain each of the numerous contracts between DeLorean and the undercover agents Res summation began with a calm reading of all the lies and inconsistencies contained in the prosecutions case. Re told the jury that by the time DeLorean realized that this was a drug deal, he was too frightened to pull out. Pronouncement:
The Jury acquitted DeLorean on August 16, 1984.

The jurors were unanimous in their belief that even if he had, the governments action had crossed the line into entrapment.

Closing Argument The State of California vs. John DeLorean Delivered by Donald Re The facts demonstrate that DeLorean didnt commit any crime and that he should be acquitted of every charge. The Prosecution tells you that the accused was a man who was so desperate to hold on to his car company and that he was willing to do a heroin deal. However, what the evidence has shown is that DeLorean was manipulated, manoeuvred, conned and that he is a victim. In 1980, DeLorean and Hoffman when they were neighbours had their first conversation. Then there is the period between June 29 and July 11. Thats the period before the first meeting at the Marriot, before the first telephone calls. We then have the July 11th Marriott meeting. Then theres the period between July 4th and September 4th, when there are recorded audio conversations. Then we have September 4th, wherein it was the video that have been publicize. Each one of those episodes has areas of inconsistency that has been rebutted during trial. Now, with regard with Mr. Hoffman, the prosecution primary witness, he told you that he has been convicted of a felony. He is not only convicted of a felony, but he was convicted of a felony in circumstances again where he was trying to help himself, and the court will instruct you that the testimony of a witness may be discredited or impeached if there is showing that the witness has been convicted of a felony. Mr. Hoffman is an admitted perjurer and a convicted felon. That to the knowledge of DeLoren, Mr. Hoffman was making an investment to his company. The Bank reference is significant because it is a financial institution. That the relationship between the two at this point in the case is one based on investment in the company. The theory of the governments case is that DeLorean would do a heroin deal to hold on to his company, and that is not true. He wanted an investment and when that didnt come through, he was willing to give up his right to manufacture the car that bore his name.

Biography:

DONALD RE Born in 1946, he was raised in New Jersey, graduated from high school in 1963, and attended Princeton University. After his bachelors degree in 1967, he headed west, attending law school at the University of California at Los Angeles, he graduated in 1970 with a law degree and began his career as a trial attorney. HOWARD WEITZMAN A native of California and graduate of the University of Southern California Law School, he began his criminal law practice in 1965 and established himself as an energetic defender in sometimes notorious cases. His specialty was murder, and he won acquittal for Mary Brunner, a member of the Charles Manson family in 1970.

THE CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY These two defense lawyers were considered new breeds back in early 1980s. They were never boring as the days of their lives revolved around violence, victory and tragedy. Although these great American lawyers observed the Model Rules of Professional Conduct by the American Bar Association, it was evident that they also discharged their duties, especially in this DeLorean Case, similarly with the Code of Professional Responsibilities for lawyers in the Philippines. 1. Rule 2.01 A lawyer shall not reject, except for valid reasons, the cause of the defenseless or the oppressed. Howard and Re accepted the case even though the public had already judged DeLorean guilty beyond reasonable doubt because of the videotapes that were broadcast on national television. They find defense more appealing and romantic, and that there is something more than defending than prosecuting the innocent. 2. Canon 8 A lawyer shall conduct himself with courtesy, fairness and candor toward his professional colleagues, and shall avoid harassing tactics against opposing counsel. The defense honed in on the prosecutions flaws, but they never attacked the competence of the state counsels. Howard and Re criticized the evidences presented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the credibility of the witnesses of the prosecution who took the stand. 3. Rule 9.01 A lawyer shall not delegate to any unqualified person the performance of any task which by law may only be performed by a member of the Bar in good standing. Although the defense team knew that their client, John DeLorean, might take more time in prison due to lack of impartial prospective jurors, they still painstakingly waited until they found sets of such jurors before the trial began. They made sure that DeLorean will get an fair and unbiased trial. 4. Rule 12.01 A lawyer shall not appear for trial unless he has adequately prepared himself on the law and the facts of his case, the evidence he will adduce and the order of its profference. He should also be ready with the original documents for comparison with the copies. The defense lawyers revealed the truth behind those videotapes. They studied the words and actuations of all those people involved in the said tapes. 5. Canon 13 A lawyer shall rely upon the merits of his cause and refrain from any impropriety which tends to influence, or gives the appearance of influencing the court.

The defense team shifted the battle ground from DeLoreans action to the misdeeds of the government. 6. Rule 13.02 A lawyer shall not make public statements in the media regarding a pending case tending to arouse public opinion for or against a party. They tried their best to conceal the tapes until trial because they knew that the showing of its contents would lead to public trial and to impartial judgment against DeLorean. 7. Canon 17 A lawyer owes fidelity to the cause of his client and he shall be mindful of the trust and confidence reposed in him. Canon 18 A lawyer shall serve his client with competence and diligence. For almost two years, they fought hard to prove DeLoreans innocence. 8. Rule 18.01 A lawyer shall not undertake a legal service which he knows or should know that he is not qualified to render. Howard and Re are two experienced trial attorneys. They represented and won the case of different personalities in the United States. 9. Rule 19.03 A lawyer shall not allow his client to dictate the procedure in handling the case. They did not let DeLorean take the witness stand although only DeLorean could tell what really happened. DeLorean, just like any other defendants, wanted to speak out and tell his side of the story, but the defense team handled the case their way. After the victory of the defense team, John DeLorean said the most striking words for these two great lawyers during an interview, Perhaps somehow we can get the laws changed and the codes of conduct changed so that this can't happen to other people,"