California Supreme Court rules for prosecutor who advised filmmakers

Instead, the prosecutor's work on the film "Alpha Dog" spurred an appellate court to remove him from the case on the grounds that he participated in "the public vilification" of a man who was to stand trial for an alleged murder that could bring the death penalty.

The California Supreme Court on Monday unanimously decided that the appeals court went too far. The court said Deputy Dist. Atty. Ronald Zonen should have been permitted to stay on the case because a trial judge had not found that his actions endangered the defendant's right to a fair trial.

"That is not to say that Zonen can or should escape censure," Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar wrote for the court. "We find his acknowledged actions in turning over his case files without so much as an attempt to screen them for confidential information highly inappropriate and disturbing."

In three rulings Monday, the state high court overturned decisions that removed prosecutors from cases because of conflicts of interest. One of them involved another Santa Barbara County prosecutor who wrote a novel about a crime similar to one she was about to prosecute.

Citing the desire of many lawyers for notoriety, the court said both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer in a high-profile trial may have an interest in "burnishing his legacy."

"Success in high-profile cases brings acclaim," Werdegar wrote. "It is endemic to such matters."

In such cases, the public must rely on prosecutors to carry out their obligations fairly and justly, Werdegar wrote.

Zonen was not paid for consulting on "Alpha Dog," which was based on Hollywood's alleged kidnapping and alleged murder of Nicholas Markowitz, 15. The prosecution contended that Hollywood was a drug dealer in the San Fernando Valley who ordered Markowitz killed because of a dispute with the boy's older half-brother over drug money.

Zonen had agreed to postpone plans to write a book on the case, the court said, and the defense also had a hand in the movie. Hollywood's father served as a paid consultant, according to the court.

James E. Blatt, Hollywood's lawyer, said Monday's ruling "sends a wrong message to prosecutors and defense attorneys" and may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.