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Jackson advocate
Mesereau defends rich, famous, poor, unknown
By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau clapped and swayed to the rhythm
of the gospel choir and then walked two blocks to work at a free
legal clinic Sunday in a South Central neighborhood where store
clerks are surrounded by bullet-proof glass and parishioners prayed
for a young boy's recovery from a drive-by shooting.
The scene is a stark contrast to the surroundings of Mr. Mesereau's
newest client, entertainer Michael Jackson, whose nearby Beverly
Hills mansion is a hilltop castle and Santa Ynez Neverland Valley
Ranch an enchanting fairy-tale landscape with amusement rides and
a petting zoo.
But a roster of clients that ranges from the unknown and indigent
to the rich and famous is typical for Mr. Mesereau.
Just weeks ago, the 53-year-old attorney took on the highest profile
case of his 24-year-career when he agreed to defend Mr. Jackson
against child molestation charges. With Mr. Mesereau, and co-counsels
Robert Sanger, Steve Cochran and Susan Yu, by his side, Mr. Jackson
pleaded not guilty earlier this month.
Mr. Mesereau has made headlines successfully representing boxer
Mike Tyson in a rape investigation. More recently, he defended actor
Robert Blake on murder charges, although they have parted company.
But Mr. Mesereau also travels once a year to the Deep South to represent
a defendant facing execution. That's in addition to the two Sundays
a month he volunteers at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church's
legal clinic.
Mr. Mesereau declined to discuss the Jackson case, including why
he took it, citing a gag order. A close friend and colleague, defense
lawyer Jennifer Keller, said: "Tom probably took the case because
he believes Michael Jackson is innocent and like every other American
deserves the best defense available. He wouldn't take a big case
just because it's a big case. Tom likes to right wrongs. I can see
how he would think someone like Michael Jackson... would be easy
to pick on and victimize."
In an interview with the News-Press, Mr. Mesereau did share his
legal philosophies: "I have a very strong belief that our justice
system has to treat everyone equally and that often it fails in
that regard. People of low income, people of little resources or
people who are considered to have little value often are not treated
properly."
Ms. Keller said Mr. Mesereau has not changed much since she first
met him at Hastings Law School in 1976: "He was a very tolerant,
open-minded liberal thinker then and he still is — and he even
has the same hair style."
Colleagues say Mr. Mesereau's trial record is stellar — in one
year, he won seven acquittals and two hung juries in cases including
murder, drive-by shootings and robbery. He's also won several death
penalty acquittals.
"More than one deputy DA has been left open-mouthed after
the return of a not-guilty verdict," Ms. Keller said. "But
he doesn't cherry pick. He takes pretty ugly cases that look like
they don't have a lot going for them."
She says he has other qualities that make him an unusual lawyer.
"He's not really always organized and he's not a good businessman
because he hasn't made very much money," she said, and he has
certain technological deficiencies.
Mr. Mesereau purchased a computer last year, but he still hasn't
used it. He still gives dictation, writes in long hand and hand-delivers
copies of documents that other attorneys would e-mail.
"If he could find a quill pen, he'd use it," Ms. Keller
said.
SOUTH CENTRAL
On Sunday, Mr. Mesereau was greeted with hugs as he walked into
the First AME Church. Dressed in a blue pin-striped suit, he sat
next to Jackson civil attorney and family friend Brian Oxman.
"Religion is meant to be a celebration," he said as he
waited for the 8 a.m. service to begin, contrasting the free-spirited
atmosphere of the church and its 47-member gospel choir to that
of the Catholic church in which he was raised.
Later, at the clinic, nearly 40 people sought advice from Mr. Mesereau
and a handful of other attorneys about landlords, jobs or family
members' troubles with the law.
Sitting at a round folding table in the conference room in the
First AME Renaissance Center, Mr. Mesereau spoke with one woman
who wanted to expunge a felony conviction from her record and another
whose husband is serving out a second-degree murder sentence and
is coming up for parole this week. His advice was gentle, yet straightforward.
One client, interviewed after talking with Mr. Mesereau, said she
felt relieved. "He gave me hope, actually," she said.
"He was encouraging, too, and told me to just keep doing what
I'm doing."
In 2002, Mr. Mesereau was recognized with the First AME Church's
Trailblazer Award, which also has been given to Rev. Jesse Jackson,
comedian Arsenio Hall and Los Angeles Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
The church's influential pastor, Rev. Cecil Murray, noted: "It
is rare to find people of such great stature who can stand as tall
as he is and still meet anyone on any level."
LIBERAL ROOTS
Mr. Mesereau was born in 1950 in West Point, N.Y., where his father,
Thomas Sr., had graduated from the U.S. Military Academy. His father
was a decorated parachute battalion commander in the Philippines.
Mr. Thomas Sr. angered military colleagues when he wrote a letter
to the Wall Street Journal opposing the Vietnam War, his son remembers,
and caused a stir when he insisted a black friend play handball
at an all-white New York athletic club.
Mr. Thomas Sr.'s philosophy influenced his son, who opposed the
war while a student at Harvard University, where he also boxed and
played football. From there, Mr. Mesereau studied international
affairs at the London School of Economics, then graduated from the
University of California's Hastings School of Law in 1979. He was
an Orange County prosecutor and an executive with Getty Synthetic
Fuels before going into private practice in 1985.
Collins, Mesereau, Reddock & Yu is a small mid-Wilshire law
firm that handles civil and criminal cases. Mr. Mesereau lives near
Beverly Center in Los Angeles. He has a girlfriend who is an actor,
who also organizes productions to benefit battered women. He takes
nightly walks and prefers neighborhood haunts to posh Hollywood
cafes. In his spare time, he reads about great trial lawyers, and
goes to plays and films. He is also a fan of boxing.
"He dragged me a couple of years ago to the Olympic (auditorium)
boxing where I actually got sprayed with blood from the ring,"
Ms. Keller said. "Tom is such a gentle person and so nonviolent,
but his favorite sport is boxing."
Defense lawyer Dana Cole, also a close friend since law school,
said his colleague's technique in the ring spills over into the
courtroom: "He was a fearless boxer. And he's fearless in court.
No case is too difficult for him. He walks into the courtroom with
a smile — and ready to do battle."
But a prosecutor in the Blake case and the attorney who represents
the children of Mr. Blake's wife, slaying victim Bonny Lee Bakely,
in a wrongful death lawsuit say Mr. Mesereau pushes it too far.
"It was terrible — it was awful working with him," said
Shellie Samuels, prosecutor in the Blake case. "He was, I believe,
not very forthright."
Eric Dubin, the attorney for the civil suit, said: "If I were
ever in trouble, I would want someone like Thomas Mesereau defending
me, but I'm not so sure that's a compliment. ... I think he's a
win-at-all-costs attorney and, as someone who represents victims,
I tend to find that troublesome."
However, Robert Grace, a Los Angeles prosecutor who lost a murder
case to Mr. Mesereau, said: "Generally, I've only seen him
involved in cases where there's been some some sort of social injustice
or he feels the person is being unfairly charged. He'll try to push
the envelope as far as he can — but within legal bounds."
Within days of stepping in to lead Mr. Jackson's defense team,
Mr. Mesereau got rid of the Nation of Islam bodyguards, hired a
professional security firm and significantly toned down the circuslike
atmosphere that characterized the entertainer's previous court appearance.
Mr. Jackson requested that Mr. Mesereau defend him last year but
the attorney was tied up with the Blake case. Three days after Mr.
Jackson was indicted, he dropped lead lawyers Mark Geragos and Benjamin
Brafman and hired Mr. Mesereau, who had recently parted ways with
Mr. Blake.
"A change of tone was definitely needed," Ms. Keller
said of the Jackson defenses. "Sometimes clients are unable
to step outside of themselves to see how others see them, particularly
celebrities.... Tom spends a lot of time with his clients explaining
why respect for the justice system is important."
THE DEEP SOUTH
When Elisabeth Semel first spoke with Mr. Mesereau, she thought
he was nuts.
Typically, corporate lawyers volunteered for the American Bar Association's
Death Penalty Representation Project to handle appeals. Mr. Mesereau
was from a small private firm and wanted to try the cases.
She called his reference, Ms. Keller, and asked, "Is this
guy some flake or the real deal?"
"Then she wanted to know whether he has ever tried a capital
case through the penalty phase," Ms. Keller said. "I told
her he never gets to the penalty phase. And he still doesn't."
The circumstances he has since faced "would make some people
run," Ms. Semel said.
But the payoff is worth it, Mr. Mesereau says. "The more I
examined the way the death penalty is administered in America, the
more I realized how arbitrary and discriminatory it is," he
said. "I don't see how it achieves anything. A vast majority
of those executed over the years have been disproportionately minority
defendants. Now you see DNA exonerating over 100 people who could
have faced execution — and killing one person unjustly is absolutely
unacceptable."
Since 2000, he has worked four capital cases in Alabama and one
in Mississippi — saving all five defendants from death. His fifth
one in Alabama is scheduled for August.
Mr. Mesereau won an acquittal for Terry Wayne Bonner, a homeless
mentally ill black man accused of murdering a young white woman,
in a precedent-setting case in Alabama when he convinced a jury
that witness identification can be unreliable.
"The more challenging the case, the more excited he gets,"
said Charles Salvagio, a defense lawyer from Birmingham, Ala., who
has worked cases there with Mr. Mesereau.
At first, Mr. Salvagio wondered how Mr. Mesereau would be received
in the Deep South: "He came out here with his long white hair
and the Southern California look. I had to be skeptical. But the
jury warmed right up to him. In fact, everyone has taken a liking
to him here."
Last April the lawyers got a new trial for Wesley Quick, who had
been on death row for six years on a double homicide conviction.
"My son was railroaded in the first place and that's why Tom
came down here and helped defend him," Renaldi Quick said.
"In court, he even insisted my son be called 'Mr. Quick.'''
She noted he promptly returned phone calls, frequently asked for
her perspective and kept her apprised of even the smallest developments.
"I've had dealings with attorneys before and I always end
up having words with them," Ms. Quick said. "I felt like
they were crooks. But I have a whole new attitude toward attorneys
now. If Tom feels somebody was treated wrongly by the judicial system,
he won't stop until he can do something to make it better."
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