Robert Blake

Robert Blake, the actor acquitted of his wife's murder, should not have to pay her survivors a $30-million civil court award because he did not get a fair trial, his lawyers told appellate judges Tuesday. "All we asked for was a fair trial, and it wasn't," M. Gerald Schwartzbach argued to the state 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles. "Celebrities have the same rights as anybody else. . . . Mr. Blake was denied that." Attorney Eric J.

Jurors in Robert Blake's civil trial discussed the cases of O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson, ignored the lack of evidence that Blake killed his wife and decided to "send a message that celebrities and rich people cannot get away with murder," the actor's attorney said in an appeal filed Wednesday. Blake's lawyer argued that the award of $30 million to the family of Bonny Lee Bakley in the wrongful-death case was the result of prejudice and jury misconduct and should be reversed.

Actor Robert Blake, who last year stood trial on both criminal and civil charges in connection with the 2001 slaying of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, filed for bankruptcy Friday. Blake has said publicly for months that he was broke as a result of his legal troubles. He was acquitted of murder charges in a criminal courtroom last March. However, a civil jury found in November that Blake had "intentionally caused" his wife's death and awarded her children $30 million in damages.

Actor Robert Blake is asking a civil trial judge to rule that a jury's $30-million verdict against him is void or to grant a new trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit won by the children of his slain wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.

Lawyers for Robert Blake asked a judge Monday to overturn a $30-million wrongful death verdict against the actor, saying jurors made the award out of disgust over the acquittals of celebrity defendants including O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson. Juror Jose Elias in a sworn statement said that some panelists viewed the Blake verdict as a way "to send a message that rich people and celebrities can't get away with causing someone's death." "Jurors talked about O.J.

Robert Blake won't be getting a new trial in the wrongful death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David M. Schacter on Monday denied the actor's motion to throw out the $30-million jury verdict. Blake, who was acquitted of Bakley's 2001 murder in criminal court, had accused jurors in the civil trial of misconduct. Attorney Eric J. Dubin, who represents Bakley's family, said the ruling "was absolutely fair."

An appeals court Friday upheld a civil judgment holding actor Robert Blake responsible for his wife's death, but cut in half the $30 million he was ordered to pay her family. The 2nd District appellate court ruled Friday that Blake's attorney M. Gerald Schwartzbach failed to show there had been a trial error in the wrongful-death suit. Schwartzbach had argued before the court in January that his client had not received a fair trial, citing juror misconduct and insufficient instruction given to the jury.

A woman testified Tuesday that Robert Blake acted oddly the night his wife was killed, becoming the latest in a string of prosecution witnesses who said the actor never comforted her as she lay dying. Blake, 71, is on trial in Van Nuys for murder in the shooting of Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, his wife of six months and mother of his youngest child. She was shot in Blake's car on May 4, 2001, near the Studio City restaurant where they had dined.

Los Angeles police mishandled evidence and violated Robert Blake's rights when they brought a book author along as they searched the actor's home after his wife's slaying, his defense lawyer alleged Wednesday. M. Gerald Schwartzbach launched his first broadside against the Los Angeles Police Department as he closely questioned Det. James Gollaz, one of the Blake investigators.

Prosecutors chipped away at actor Robert Blake's alibi Thursday, producing witnesses who undercut his claim to have been in a restaurant when his wife was shot to death two blocks away. The testimony came in Blake's trial in Van Nuys in the slaying of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, near Vitello's restaurant in Studio City on May 4, 2001. Prosecutors contend Blake killed Bakley to gain custody of their infant daughter, Rosie. The trial, which began Dec.