Denver Post
Cochran mystique able to tip legal scales
Lawyer's fame may play major role in Childs case
Friday, July 18, 2003 - There are legal cases, and there are high-profile legal cases. And then there are cases that bring Johnnie Cochran to town.
The attorney-turned-celebrity, who vaulted to fame when he won acquittal for alleged killer O.J. Simpson, could make his first Colorado courtroom appearance representing the family of slain Denver teenager Paul Childs. The shooting death of the developmentally disabled 15-year-old boy by a Denver cop nearly two weeks ago jolted a northeast Denver community to the streets in protest of police practices and, at the behest of an old childhood friend, brought Cochran to Denver. The attorney's appearance at Childs' funeral on Saturday, coupled with the announcement that he would represent the boy's family, fueled conjecture of a lawsuit - and with it, the unique legal dynamics that follow Cochran into a courtroom. "His media persona is huge," said Bernard Charbonnet, a New Orleans attorney who has gone to trial against Cochran. "His dynamic is that he's pervasive, he's all over the country, so people in Denver know him equally as well as people in New Orleans."
Age: 65 Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1959. Law degree from the Loyola University School of Law in 1962. Legal career: Began in 1963 in Los Angeles as a deputy city attorney for the city's criminal division. Started in private practice in 1966. Personal: Married to Dale Mason Cochran, a concessionaire at Denver International Airport. One son, a California Highway Patrol officer, and one daughter, a news anchor in Atlanta. Abner Louima, 2001: Haitian immigrant tortured in a New York police station bathroom won an $8.75 million settlement. Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs, 1999: Rapper charged with possession of a weapon in connection to a shooting at a New York club. Combs was acquitted. Snoop Dogg, 1995: Rapper charged with accessory to murder and manslaughter. Snoop Dogg was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges are dropped. Todd Bridges, 1989: Former child actor from "Diff'rent Strokes" is charged with attempted murder of a drug dealer. Bridges was acquitted.
Cochran's client list includes filmmaker Spike Lee, rapper Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and pop icon Michael Jackson, but also previously unknown names such as Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant whose abuse at the hands of New York cops sparked national outrage. 
JOHNNIE L. COCHRAN
SOME NOTABLE CASES
Thursday night, Cochran appeared on ESPN, defending disgraced baseball star Pete Rose in a mock trial to argue whether Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame despite his gambling activities.
Wherever he goes, Cochran brings something extra, something beyond the star power that settled over him with the O.J. verdict.
"He brings instant credibility to a cause," said Denver lawyer Craig Silverman. "The bottom line is that Johnnie Cochran is known as a winner, and everybody loves a winner. I'd anticipate that if and when this (Childs) case ever goes to trial, he'll be sitting at the counsel table."
Although not licensed in Colorado, Cochran could apply for one-time permission to practice law in the state. He must retain a local co-counsel and petition the trial judge for the exemption.
Lawyers throughout the country said Cochran's presence alone could affect the legal machinations of a case.
Charbonnet represented Louisiana's convention center board in a dispute over private property the state hoped to acquire for a new hotel complex. But he didn't join the case until Cochran signed on to help represent the private-property owner.
"They called me because Johnnie came in, and I was brought in to neutralize Johnnie," said Charbonnet, who has known Cochran for years. "I thought I had him, actually."
But he didn't.
Cochran won the trial when a jury came back with a $10.5 million sale price for his client's property, instead of the $1.2 million advanced by the state.
Cochran looms particularly effective before lower- or middle-income jurors, and especially blacks, Charbonnet said.
Each member of the jury in his case was black.
"When I tried this case against Johnnie, I started my voir dire by saying, 'Listen, ladies and gentlemen, if you're going to determine the outcome of this case by who's the most prominent and best lawyer, I can just go home now,"' Charbonnet said. "I thought I took the edge off. But juries are mesmerized by Johnnie. He overcame it."
Attorneys facing Cochran also must consider ways to counter his imposing media presence, Charbonnet said.
|
Some want Sunday to be 'Paul's Day' A lay minister is urging Denver residents to turn on their car headlights during the day Sunday in memory of Paul Childs, the 15-year-old killed by police this month. Gretchen D. Carman-Palmer, a lay minister in the Episcopal Church, said the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance supports the idea. She hopes the lights-on memorial catches the attention of Mayor-elect John Hickenlooper and police officials. Carman-Palmer has also contacted the mayor's office in hopes of getting July 20 declared "Paul's Day." Shepard Nevel, an aide to Mayor Wellington Webb, said Webb is aware of the request for a "Paul's Day" proclamation and is considering it. |
New York attorney Bruce Smirti often defends cops in court and, though he has never opposed Cochran personally, has observed the way he has worked high-profile cases like Louima. He said Cochran simply brings a "racial component" into play.
"He panders to the worst type of prejudices of black people," Smirti said. "He's not a particularly good tactician, but he appeals to black people. If he goes in front of a white jury, he'll lose."
Some attorneys do speak of an "O.J. backlash" among jurors who hold Cochran responsible for a miscarriage of justice in the notorious double homicide. Smirti also claims Cochran's style outweighs substance as a litigator.
Yet, Cochran manages to overcome both criticisms.
"He's probably the best-known attorney in America," Smirti said. "Once you have that kind of cache, you attain that star power. It stays with you, and people are taken in by people who are stars or celebrities."
But other attorneys who have worked with, and against, Cochran praise his abilities and the effectiveness of his tactical approach.
Albert J. D'Aquino faced Cochran in a 1996 case in Buffalo, N.Y., that revolved around a black teenage girl who was killed by a truck while trying to cross several lanes of traffic to reach a shopping mall.
Television's "Nightline" picked up the story, highlighting the racial angle that questioned whether the difficulty reaching the mall via public transit was a ploy to keep people from certain neighborhoods from shopping there.
Cochran pressed that basic approach.
"He tries to identify a theme to his case and stick with that and push it through, rather than be a technician and throw every conceivable fact at jurors," D'Aquino said.
"I'd say that he's probably as good as the top 10 litigators in Denver who've practiced 30 years or more, and know the same tricks of the trade. He's just in that elite category of older lawyers who've honed their skills so well."
Robert Perk, the Buffalo attorney who first brought the plaintiff's case, said the national publicity prompted word to filter to Cochran. Perk said he jumped at the opportunity when he learned of the famous lawyer's interest.
They wound up teaming on the case, in the manner Cochran often teams with local counsel. And Perk found Cochran anything but a big-footing, big-name attorney bent on dominating the case.
"He worked hard, and he really cared," Perk said. "He wasn't going to fly to Buffalo, make some noise and leave with a check."
But Perk wanted Cochran to make noise - in the courtroom. At their first meeting, when Cochran broke into an impromptu summation of the case, casting it as a conflict between the haves and have- nots, Perk loved what he heard.
"I told him to keep that in mind for his opening statement, but he said we can decide who'll give the opening later," Perk recalled. "I said that there was only one lawyer in the world I'd defer to on that. It's you."
The case eventually settled for $2.55 million.
But Cochran affects more than just legal strategies.
In Providence, R.I., he joined local lawyers in addressing a police shooting of a black man who, it turned out, was an off-duty cop trying to break up a fight.
His presence had a palpable impact on the city's minority community, said Clifford Montiero, president of the Providence branch of the NAACP.
"Johnnie Cochran brought in that dimension of pride," Montiero said, adding that the case remains open. "He came in more like a movie star, but he was normal. He shook hands with people, talked with people, communicated with people in a fashion that said, 'I will win. Have faith in me and in your community."'
Cochran learned of the Childs case from longtime friend, the Rev. Paul Martin of Denver's Macedonia Baptist Church, who officiated at Childs' funeral.
Martin grew up with Cochran in south-central Los Angeles. When he learned of Childs' death, Martin called Cochran, offering what he called a "classic case" for someone who cut his legal teeth on civil rights.
Although many of Cochran's cases have invoked race, Martin doesn't frame the Childs case in those terms.
"This issue is about justice and civil liberty. It's not a racial issue," he said. "This is exactly the type of case where he has the expertise to help a community deal with police problems."
Martin said he has long pushed Cochran to open a branch of his law firm in Denver, citing the 1999 shooting death of Ismael Mena by police in a botched no-knock drug raid as an example of a case that Cochran would take.
"He could make a difference here," said Martin, adding that he has gotten about 10 calls a day since the July 5 shooting from people asking for Cochran's legal representation. "He's not in it for the money. He's got more money than any of us could spend in two lifetimes."
For Childs' funeral, Cochran flew into Centennial Airport in his private jet. He spoke at the service and left town soon afterward.
His investigators remain in Denver, but Cochran likely will not be back for a few weeks. He will publicly lay out his findings at that time, an assistant in Cochran's Los Angeles office said.
Through his office, Cochran declined to comment for this story.
Legal experts say a federal civil rights lawsuit appears Cochran's most likely course.
Even though such a lawsuit could ultimately cost the city, Denver City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, who represents the district where Childs was shot, welcomes Cochran's involvement.
She still has his business card from a chance meeting eight years ago, and said his name and national reputation lend instant credibility to the case and the city.
"People in Denver want accountability and answers," Wedgeworth said. "He is an advocate for accountability."
Martin said Denver can expect Cochran to be a vehement advocate for the Childs family if the case goes to court.
"He's just a down-to-earth guy when you get to know him," Martin said, "but in the courtroom, forget it. He's a monster."