Posted on 10/24/2002 9:50:16 AM PDT by Marianne
James C. Kopp will have a new lawyer, long prominent in the pro-life movement, and a new defense strategy when he goes to trial in February in the Dr. Barnett A. Slepian murder case.
Does this mean that Kopp's trial will turn into a right-to-life crusade?
There were no clear answers Tuesday, but a series of court developments left the strong impression that the high-profile murder case could soon take a sharp turn toward the political. Erie County Judge Michael L. D'Amico set a tentative trial date of Feb. 3.
Kopp, 47, told D'Amico and U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott that he wants a new defense team, headed by attorney Bruce A. Barket of Long Island. Although both judges raised questions about the proposed changes, court officials anticipate that, if Kopp wants new attorneys, he will get them.
If that happens, it will mean the exit of Paul J. Cambria Jr., a tough veteran lawyer who has not revealed his own opinions on abortion and had vowed never to allow Kopp's case to become a referendum on the rights of the unborn.
Enter Barket, an ardent anti-abortion lawyer who readily acknowledges that he admires Kopp for his strong opposition to abortion.
"I wouldn't represent someone in a political trial if I strongly disagreed with their politics," Barket said. "I'm absolutely pro-life. Abortion is an abomination and a scourge on the nation.
"This case isn't about me; it's about Jim Kopp. Whatever direction this case takes, it will be guided by Jim's Catholic faith, his principles and the truth."
Barket declined to discuss his plans for trial strategy, saying that it would be premature because he has not yet been approved to represent Kopp. But his remarks contrasted sharply with past statements by Cambria, who repeatedly declined to discuss the abortion issue since taking Kopp's case in June 2001.
Sources close to the case said Kopp is changing attorneys largely because he feels a strong connection to Barket and his commitment to the anti-abortion movement. Cambria, meanwhile, is upset that Kopp is being advised by people in the pro-life movement to make his trial a referendum on the issue of abortion.
"This is not a case about abortion or abortion rights," Cambria told The Buffalo News in July. "It's a murder case, and my job is to attack the evidence."
Barket is a strong supporter of the rights of pro-life organizations to protest at clinics where abortions are performed. He has represented a number of pro-life defendants, including Loretta C. Marra, a close friend of Kopp's from Brooklyn who is accused of helping him avoid being captured after the 1998 sniper slaying of Slepian in his Amherst home.
"I'm a defense lawyer by trade, . . . and sometimes the motivation is morality," Barket said. "Over the years, our society has consistently expanded the law to protect certain individuals - like African-Americans and women. In the case of the unborn, we've actually gone in the opposite direction. We've taken basic protection away from a group of individuals. I think that's wrong."
Kopp told Scott on Tuesday that he wants Barket to represent him, even after Scott pointed out possible conflicts of interest that could arise if Barket is representing both him and Marra.
"I understand," Kopp said, "and it doesn't bother me."
All the same, Scott said, he cannot approve Barket's entering the case until he first is certain that Kopp understands all the possible legal pitfalls of making such a decision. Scott said he will appoint "independent counsels" to advise both Kopp and Marra on the legal issues. The judge will then meet again with Kopp and Marra on Oct. 31.
At county court, D'Amico said he, too, wants Kopp to understand all the possible conflicts of interests that could arise from Barket's representing both him and Marra.
The prosecutor in the murder case, Deputy District Attorney Joseph J. Marusak, said Kopp should understand that Marra could benefit from influencing Kopp to make an "incriminating" statement about himself.
It was also pointed out to Kopp, in both courts, that Barket could have divided loyalties if he was put into a position of having to choose a legal strategy that helped either Kopp or Marra.
Kopp said he understands the potential difficulties and still wants Barket to represent him.
"I'm not comfortable with Mr. Marusak discussing (defense) strategy," Kopp told D'Amico.
D'Amico said he will have Kopp back in his courtroom Tuesday, when Kopp is expected to sign a waiver agreeing to the change of attorneys.
Sources said differences of opinion over trial strategy have developed in recent weeks between Cambria and some of Kopp's advisers in the pro-life community. While Cambria wants to attack prosecutors' evidence and seek a full acquittal, some of Kopp's advisers want the trial to focus on the ethical debate about abortion.
The soft-spoken Kopp appeared in federal court in a wrinkled blue jacket, a blue shirt and khaki pants. When Scott asked him for his reason for changing attorneys, he answered: "I'd rather not state it, if that's all right."
Courtroom observers included Lynne Slepian, widow of the slain doctor.
Her 52-year-old husband, a father of four sons, was shot by a sniper in his Amherst home on the night of Oct. 23, 1998. Amherst police believe that the sniper fired from a wooded area behind the Slepian home.
Although he delivered babies and performed other medical services for women, authorities believe that Slepian was targeted because he performed abortions. The slaying was described last week as an "assassination" by Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark.
After a worldwide manhunt coordinated by federal prosecutors and FBI agents in Buffalo, Kopp was captured in Dinan, France, in late March 2001. His name was on the FBI's list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives when French police arrested him near a post office.
While refusing on Tuesday to discuss his reasons for leaving the Kopp case, Cambria said money has not been an issue.
"Money has never been a problem in this case. We've been paid for the work we've done," Cambria said. "I went into this case with my eyes wide-open."
Donations from people in the anti-abortion movement have been paying for Kopp's defense.
Barket said he also does not anticipate any financial problems. Nor does he have a problem with moving his law practice to Buffalo for months while the case is tried. Sometime after the murder trial, Kopp will face trial on related federal charges before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
"I have discussed these potential problems with the people who work with me in my law office on Long Island, and they understand," Barket said.
Barket added that he is looking for a local attorney to assist him, and he said he hopes he can add Buffalo lawyer Thomas J. Eoannou to the defense team. Eoannou already represents Dennis J. Malvasi, Marra's husband.
"I would beg to have someone of Tom's caliber on the defense team," Barket said.
"I'll consider it. I wouldn't rule it out," Eoannou said. "I think it is a case that has a lot of evidence in it that could cause a jury to have a lot of questions."
I have no idea if he's guilty or not, but if he is, what would he want a fair trial for?
I don't know if he is guilty, but this action certainly makes it seem more likely that he may well be, IMO.
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