Courts

Before hitting the intellectual heights of a law conference last week, I sought a dose of reality in the Los Angeles Criminal Courts Building. Up on the ninth floor, the scene of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, I wandered into Department 106, where Superior Court Judge Edward A. Ferris was presiding over the trial of Jose Santa Maria. It was, the prosecution said, another story of love gone bad.

Merrill Lynch & Co. is once again seeking to move the county's $2-billion lawsuit out of Bankruptcy Court and into U.S. District Court, according to a motion the brokerage firm filed Monday. The county successfully fought an attempt by the brokerage firm more than a year ago to move the case into District Court, where the action would proceed less quickly. In denying that request, the U.S. District Court called it premature.

Gregory Bristford Brackett stood accused of molesting the 9-year-old niece of his live-in girlfriend. He had his defense all ready: a dozen witnesses to back him up, a lawyer expert at parrying such charges. And then he found a surprise ally--in a tape recorder. In California, all defendants are entitled to have judicial proceedings recorded in shorthand by certified court reporters.

Gregory Bristford Brackett stood accused of molesting the 9-year-old niece of his live-in girlfriend. He had his defense all ready: a dozen witnesses to back him up, a lawyer expert at parrying such charges. And then he found a surprise ally--in a tape recorder. In California, all defendants are entitled to have judicial proceedings recorded in shorthand by certified court reporters.

A brutal murder--a stabbing--sends shock waves through the city. A trail of physical evidence--including bloody footprints--ties the accused to the crime. A publicity-seeking attorney--known for defending guilty clients--abuses the system to secure an acquittal. A female prosecutor--selected because of her sex--fights both the defense and her own office. Sound familiar?

In their book "Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies," due out in June, UCLA law professors Paul Bergman and Michael Asimow analyze 70 courtroom movies. Written for nonlawyers as well as lawyers, the book rates each movie on the effect and authenticity of its trial, on a scale of four gavels (a classic) to one gavel (turkey). Here are a few of their opinions: Four Gavels: "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959)--As with the O.J.

Cochran bashes Darden. Darden bashes Cochran. Shapiro bashes Bailey. Bailey bashes Shapiro. Book deals. Larry King. Yadda yadda yadda. The law. Well, not entirely. It just seems that way if you're a TV viewer. Nor, their strengths notwithstanding, are NBC's "Law & Order" and ABC's "Murder One" designed as primers on the courtroom.

In Los Angeles County, certain murders are more likely to be solved and successfully prosecuted than others. Killers of whites are more likely to be punished than killers of blacks or Latinos. Slayings that get publicity are more likely to end in convictions. And outcomes vary significantly from police agency to police agency and from courthouse to courthouse.

The brightly-colored envelopes appeared on the desks of every employee at the massive Los Angeles computer company on Valentine's Day. Expecting a holiday treat, each employee unsealed the package and pulled out--a subpoena. Score one for Stephen Raheb, whose job includes serving unwilling witnesses with subpoenas and other court documents.

Amid the roar of the downtown rush hour, a bus's horn blares at John Harrelson as he swerves his bike across its path toward the courthouse steps. Safely on the sidewalk, Harrelson shakes a finger at the driver as he charges into the building to deliver a stack of court documents before the business day ends. "What? Am I invisible?" he shouts. "Nobody respects us messengers downtown," said the 25-year-old Harrelson.