NEW LAWYER IS ASSIGNED TO KOPP

For now, at least, James C. Kopp has a new attorney for his case in federal court.

In a recent ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott allowed Buffalo attorney Paul J. Cambria Jr. to withdraw from the case. Scott assigned federal public defender William G. Clauss to represent Kopp on federal charges relating to the 1998 slaying of Dr. Barnett A. Slepian, an abortion provider, in Amherst.

"I have met with Jim Kopp, and, at this point, I am his attorney of record at federal court," Clauss said Monday.

"I'm glad to be off the case," Cambria said. "I asked to withdraw because I didn't agree with the manner in which some things were being handled. From a professional standpoint, I wish Jim Kopp and Mr. Clauss well."

During an appearance before Scott last month, Kopp said he felt so strongly about having Long Island attorney Bruce A. Barket represent him that if Barket were not allowed to take the federal case, he might represent himself.

In a Nov. 27 ruling, Scott prohibited Barket from representing Kopp because of a possible conflict of interest arising from Barket's representation of Loretta C. Marra of Brooklyn, Kopp's friend and anti-abortion associate. Marra faces charges in New York City for allegedly helping Kopp stay on the run after the Slepian killing.

Clauss said Monday that he does not know whether Kopp and Barket plan to appeal Scott's ruling.

Kopp faces a trial on state murder charges before Erie County Judge Michael L. D'Amico and, later, a trial on related federal charges before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

LONG ISLAND LAWYER PUSHES EFFORT TO REPRESENT KOPP IN FEDERAL CASE
The Buffalo News LINK
Michael Beebe, News Staff Reporter
January 1, 2003
     The attorney representing James C. Kopp on state murder charges in the killing of Dr. Barnett A. Slepian has asked a federal judge to overturn a magistrate's decision barring him from defending Kopp on federal charges, saying Kopp has a constitutional right to choose his own lawyer.
     Long Island attorney Bruce A. Barket also said that Kopp stands by his jailhouse confession to The Buffalo News that he shot and killed Slepian and will not retract the statement.
     "Magistrate (Hugh B.) Scott's decision seems to assume that Mr. Kopp may want to run from his much publicized admission," Barket wrote. "Nothing could be further from the truth."
     Barket, in legal papers filed Tuesday, said Scott erred when he ruled in November that Barket has a conflict of interest. Scott on Monday appointed a federal public defender to represent Kopp on the federal charges of restricting access to an abortion clinic.
     "Rather than insuring the integrity of the judicial process," Barket said in an affidavit appealing the ruling to U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, "Magistrate Scott's ruling undermined Mr. Kopp's right to counsel and severely hampered his defense."
     Scott had ruled in November that Barket could not represent Kopp because he also represents Loretta C. Marra, a friend of Kopp's accused of helping him evade authorities.
     In making his ruling, Scott said there was a possibility that Marra could be called as a witness in the Kopp case, preventing a vigorous cross-examination of her by Barket.
     Scott also said that Barket could be a witness, because Barket sat in on an interview in the Erie County Holding Center, when Kopp told two reporters from The News that he shot Slepian to prevent him from performing abortions but did not mean to kill him.
     Barket said that it is unlikely Marra would be called as a witness against Kopp and that even if she were, she would have the right to claim Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. He said he doubted that the government would grant her immunity from prosecution.
     Barket also said that if the government needs to confirm Kopp's statements about shooting Slepian, prosecutors could call The News reporters who wrote the story, or get a tape of the telephone call Kopp later made that was aired on WGRZ-TV.
     "Moreover," the defense lawyer added, "there is no indication on the record that Mr. Kopp could in any credible way be able to deny making the statements reported by The Buffalo News or tape recorded and broadcast on television."
     Barket said Kopp had tried over the objections of prosecutors and jail administrators to grant more interviews and repeat the admissions as many times as possible.
     Erie County Judge Michael L. D'Amico has since issued a gag order on Kopp and attorneys in the case.
     Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter, the prosecutor on the federal charges, did not earlier oppose Barket representing Kopp. But the hearing on the conflict question took place before Kopp's confession, and Mehltretter said Tuesday that prosecutors would review their options before responding to Barket's motion.
     John V. Elmore, Barket's co-counsel, said Kopp's defense would be aided by having the same attorneys on both state and federal charges.
     "We're asking Judge Arcara to allow Mr. Kopp to have the attorney of his choosing," Elmore said.

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