Legal News

Sun Shines in Carona Case, But Does More Work Loom?

By Dionne Searcey

Associated Press

Former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona with his wife Deborah speaks at a news conference outside court in Santa Ana, Calif., Friday, Jan 16, 2009.

Will this be a case of the Lord Giveth, the Lord Taketh Away? After a federal jury acquitted Orange County, Calif., Sheriff Mike Carona, also known as “America’s Sheriff,” on conspiracy and mail fraud charges in a case alleging that he used his office to enrich himself and his friends and family, he was quoted in the LA Times as saying the acquittals were an “absolute miracle.”

Brian Sun (pictured, right), the lawyer who defended Carona, told the National Law Journal that he eventually handled the case pro bono because his client could no longer afford to keep him on.

But Carona didn’t get off completely; he was convicted on one count of witness tampering tied to recorded audiotapes in which he attempted to influence the grand jury testimony of a man who had served as his assistant sheriff, the NLJ reports. But the case ended with a twist: juror notes were unsealed stating two jurors in the case said they felt intimidated and pressured to side with Carona. (LAT on that here.)

Sun’s take on that follows:

National Law Journal: Since the verdict, juror notes have come out saying some jurors felt pressured to acquit. What effect does that have on the verdict?

Brian Sun: Some of that may impact our post-trial motions, but it’s too early or premature to comment on it until we do more review. There’s a lot more to it than what’s being reported in the press. On the other hand, we need to do due diligence on that in terms of these things having any legal impact on the case.”

Charges that his wife and mistress benefited from the scheme Carona was orchestrating were dropped today.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on January 29, 2009 (boomark / email).