Mack Fires Attorneys, Requests New Trial

[GollyGeeWhiz]

Link to RGJ news item: http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/NEWS18/71130036&oaso=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/NEWS18/71130036&oaso=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews)

I saw this first on Channel 4 (Reno) @ 5:00pm. Christopher Lalli (pros) was interviewed and stated that this is neither uncommon for defendants who plead guilty to serious offenses, nor is it uncommon for Darren Mack, who behaved similarly in his divorce proceedings. He agreed to a settlement with Charla, and then reneged.

[TobyTiger]

Thanks for catching the latest news, GGW!

An update from the Reno Gazette Journal...

MACK TO WITHDRAW GUILTY PLEAS (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/NEWS01/711300488/1004/NEWS)

Posted: 11/30/2007

Darren Mack has dropped his legal defense team after pleading guilty to murder and attempted murder charges, and plans to file a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, a source close to his family said Thursday.

The withdrawal motion has yet to be filed but was in the process of being crafted, the source said.

As of Wednesday, Scott Freeman, one of Mack's trial lawyers, had signed the substitution request but David Chesnoff had not.

William Routsis, a lawyer with the Reno firm of Laub and Laub, was to take over the case, the source said.

In a surprise move, Mack, 46, stopped his murder trail on Nov. 5, just as his lawyers were about to present the defense case and agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder of his estranged wife, Charla, 39.

She was found stabbed to death in the garage of his upscale townhouse on June 14, 2006.

Mack also entered a conditional guilty plea on the attempted murder charge in the sniper-style shooting of their divorce judge, Chuck Weller.

Under the plea, Mack said he did not intend to kill the judge but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him.

Neither Freeman nor Chesnoff could be reached for comment late Thursday. Special Prosecutor Robert Daskas also did not return phone messages.

Judge Douglas Herndon had scheduled sentencing Jan. 17-18 in Las Vegas, where he moved the trial after determining an impartial jury could not be found in Washoe County.

Mack faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years on the murder charge.

more at the link

[TobyTiger]

ROUTSIS TAKES OVER MACK CASE (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?NoCache=1&Dato=20071130&Kategori=NEWS18&Lopenr=71130019&Ref=AR&Show=0)

Posted: 11/30/2007

The brother of Darren Mack confirmed today that Mack has fired his lawyers and plans to file a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, which were entered early this month in the middle of his murder and attempted-murder trial.

Darren Mack filed forms Thursday to replace attorneys Scott Freeman and David Chesnoff with Reno lawyer William Routsis, Landon Mack said. The next step is to deal with the murder and attempted-murder charges.

“Routsis has been retained to correct a huge manifestation of injustice and to withdraw the pleas,” Landon Mack said today.

Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli said Mack would likely be unsuccessful if he attempts to reverse his acceptance of guilt, but said he was not surprised by reports that he planned to take that course.

“Whenever anybody signs up for a sentence of this magnitude, it’s not uncommon to have buyer’s remorse,” Lalli said.

“Fortunately there are strict legal requirements that must be met before a plea is withdrawn,” Lalli said. “Unless he can show that the pleas were not knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently entered, it won’t be accepted.”

A court hearing to decide whether Mack will be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas will likely be held in Reno in mid-December, said Michael Sommermeyer, a spokesman for Judge Douglas Herndon.

No motion had been filed by late Friday morning, but one is being crafted, Landon Mack said. Mack was charged with killing his estranged wife, Charla, on June 14, 2006, and then shooting their divorce judge, Chuck Weller.

The prosecution had rested its case and the defense was about to begin on Nov. 5, when Mack made the unexpected announcement that he wanted to stop the trial and plead guilty to first-degree murder. He also entered a conditional plea to the attempted murder with a deadly weapon charge.

Under that plea, Mack did not admit to trying to kill Weller, but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him.

[TobyTiger]

LAWYER: MACK WAS CONFUSED OVER PLEAS (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/NEWS01/712060341/1016/NEWS)

Darren Mack's new lawyer contends his client was in pain, dehydrated, underfed and confused when he abruptly pleaded guilty during his trial last month for killing his wife and shooting their divorce judge, in a motion to withdraw the pleas filed Wednesday.

William Routsis said Mack should be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas and get a new trial on the murder and attempted murder charges.

"From the beginning of the hearing, it appears Mack was confused as to the nature of the pleas and what exactly he was admitting," Routsis said in the court documents. "Mack's

apparent acquiescence to the plea negotiations was based upon fundamental misunderstandings and miscommunications."

The motion also criticized the trial judge for not explaining to Mack the elements of premeditation and deliberation and failing to question him about his conduct on the day of the crimes and mental state while pleading. The motion said Mack would have reiterated his original self-defense plea during such questioning.

Mack, 46, surprised many on the morning of Nov. 5, as lawyers Scott Freeman and David Chesnoff were scheduled to present his defense, when he said he wanted to plead guilty to first-degree murder in the June 12, 2006, stabbing death of his estranged wife, Charla, 39.

He also agreed to enter a conditional guilty plea in the sniper-style shooting of Family Court Judge Chuck Weller, who was handling their contentious divorce. Under that plea, Mack did not admit trying to kill Weller but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

Mack surprised many again last week when he dismissed Freeman and Chesnoff and said he wanted to change his pleas. Neither Freeman nor Chesnoff have commented on Mack's decisions.

Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli said Wednesday that he had not read Mack's motion and would not comment.

The trial judge, Clark County District Judge Douglas Herndon, set a hearing for Monday in Washoe District Court to determine a briefing schedule and date for arguing the motion.

In the document, Routsis said Mack received poor treatment at the Clark County Detention Center during the 21/2-week trial, adding to his stress and confusion the morning of his change of plea.

He was dehydrated, had to wait long periods between meals and could not get pain relief for a back problem, making it difficult for him to think rationally, Routsis said.

He said he plans to take testimony from jail personnel about Mack's condition.

"This information presents a picture of a defendant who was not only in pain, dehydrated and sleep deprived, but isolated from his family and support group when critical decisions were being made," Routsis said.

He also said Mack was not allowed to talk to his family about the guilty plea and had access to them only after he signed the plea agreement.

more at the link
:read:

[TobyTiger]

JANUARY HEARING SET FOR MOTION TO WITHDRAW PLEA (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712070515)

Posted: 12/7/2007

A hearing date for Darren Mack's motion to withdraw his guilty plea has been set by the judge overseeing Mack's murder and attempted murder case, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Judge Douglas Herndon, a Clark County district judge assigned to the case, told Mack's lawyer William Routsis and Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli they will argue the point in Las Vegas on Jan. 16, the day before Mack's two-day sentencing hearing, Lalli said.

Herndon gave Lalli until Jan. 7 to respond to the motion filed late Wednesday by Routsis. And he gave Routsis until Jan. 14 to reply to Lalli's response. The sentencing hearing is Jan. 17-18.

Lalli declined to comment on Mack's motion and said he has started working on his brief.

more at the link

[TobyTiger]

MACK'S LAWYER: PLEA WAS 'FATALLY FLAWED' (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071210/NEWS18/71210029&oaso=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews)

Posted: 12/10/2007

The plea negotiations that abruptly ended Darren Mack’s murder trial last month were “fatally flawed” and he is eager to take the stand to proclaim his innocence as he has done for the last 16 months, his new lawyer said after a hearing on Monday.

Mack’s brother Landon went a step further at the press conference outside the courthouse and said Mack has been “betrayed” by the justice system in Northern Nevada and said the judges handling his various legal cases are guilty of coercion, extortion and unethical behavior.

“We’ve prepared a flow chart to show how many of the players are working together and have obvious conflicts in this judicial nightmare,” Landon Mack said. “They use their roles to further themselves and are intent on destroying Darren Mack, our mother, myself, and the Mack family financially (and) spiritually, all in plain view of the public.”

But Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli said he plans to call Mack’s former lawyers Scott Freeman and David Chesnoff, and his former co-prosecutor Robert Daskas to the stand to show that Mack’s guilty pleas were entered in a legal and appropriate manner.

Judge Douglas Herndon set up a schedule for both sides to file briefs on the motion, and ordered that an evidentiary hearing be held in Reno on Jan. 15-16, followed by oral arguments on Jan. 17.

If Mack’s motion to withdraw his plea is denied, Herndon said his sentencing hearing should also be held in Reno. He denied a request from the defense to postpone the sentencing, and held firm to the Jan. 18-19 dates.

more at the link

[TobyTiger]

MACK LAWYER TO KEEP ASKING TO POSTPONE JANUARY SENTENCING (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712120451)

Posted: 12/12/2007

Darren Mack's lawyer said Tuesday that he plans to file a motion asking the judge to postpone Mack's sentencing hearing to ensure that his defense team has enough time to focus on Mack's request to withdraw his guilty plea.

William Routsis had asked Judge Douglas Herndon to drop the sentencing dates during Monday's hearing and was denied. But on Tuesday, he said he was working on a formal motion to postpone the sentencing.

Routsis also said that he and co-counsel Bruce Lindsay still are reviewing Mack's declaration with him, and it is not expected to be released until today at the soonest.

"We just received voluminous discovery -- we're talking in the area of 9,000 pages -- that we need to go through," Routsis said. "We need time to go through that discovery."

The hearing for the plea motion is scheduled for Jan. 15-16, and the sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 17-18.

Reasons for the request were because the plea motion and the sentencing will require a lot of attention, and Mack's new lawyers, who took on the job Nov. 26, need to be familiar with the details of the case, they said.

"He's entitled to effective and prepared counsel," Routsis said.

Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli objected to this suggestion during Monday's hearing, saying that it was only Dec. 10, and they had more than a month to prepare.

"There are people's lives that are floating in the wind," Lalli told Herndon. "There are victims who have emotionally suffered greatly."

At Monday's hearing, Herndon denied Routsis' request, saying they should have enough time because they will only need to focus on the sentence for the attempted murder with a deadly weapon charge and whether he'll run the two sentences concurrently or consecutively.

more at the link

[TobyTiger]

Sorry...should have posted this before the Holiday break!

MACK DEFENSE: WEAPONS CAN BE FOUND AT LANDFILL (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071222/NEWS/71222001/1321)

Posted: 12/22/2007

In a new motion filed late Friday, Darren Mack said that he told his previous lawyers where he put the gun that Charla Mack allegedly pointed at him before he stabbed her in what he said was self defense.

The motion also said he told the attorneys the whereabouts of the knife and bloody clothes, but they refused to tell the prosecution or go look for the weapons.

“(Mack) stated that he told (Scott) Freeman that he wanted someone to go to the local landfill to find these items, which would support his claim of self defense,” Gina Crown, an investigator for Mack’s new lawyer, said in a statement filed with the motion. “Mr. Freeman told (Mack) that the weapons would not be looked for.”

For this and a list of other reasons, Mack should be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas and be granted a new trial, the motions said.

“We are mindful of the tragedy of Charla’s death — a death is horrible no matter how it happened,” said Mack’s new lawyer William Routsis. “But I’m trying to avoid another tragedy by having the truth come out.”

Freeman said late Friday that he had not seen the motion and declined to comment on Mack’s claims.

more at the link

[TobyTiger]

MACK: "PSYCHOLOGICALLY RAPED" BY LAWYERS (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080107/NEWS18/80107050&oaso=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews)

Darren Mack said in a statement filed in court Monday that he was “psychologically raped” by his two lawyers, who assured him they would get him acquitted of murder and attempted murder charges, but changed their minds after they received the last payment in their $1.25 million in fees.

Mack also said that someone forged his signature on the guilty plea agreement, said his lawyers filed the motion claiming insanity without his consent and said one of his lawyers, David Chesnoff, lied during his opening statement to the court.

Chesnoff did not return a phone message Monday, and Scott Freeman declined to comment on Mack’s claims.

Mack, 46, was charged with killing his estranged wife, Charla, 39, on June 12, 2006, and then shooting their divorce judge, Chuck Weller, in his third-floor chambers.

Mack pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity, but abruptly changed his plea Nov. 5, after the prosecution rested its case and his defense was to begin. He then dismissed Chesnoff and Freeman, hired new lawyers and has filed motions to withdraw the pleas and get a new trial.
Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli filed his response to those motions Monday, saying Mack had plenty of time to discuss the plea change with everyone involved, signed the plea agreement and then answered questions from the judge about his decision.

Mack waived his rights, Lalli said, and the pleas should stand.

But Mack, in his 30-page declaration, said he was coerced.

When he returned from Mexico, he said he told his lawyers where to find the gun he claims Charla used against him and the knife he used, but they refused, and said they didn’t want the police to find them. Mack said they were important for his claim of self-defense, but his lawyers didn’t want them found, he said.

Mack also said he did not want to use the insanity defense, but Chesnoff pressured him into it. When they were trying to get him to change his plea, Mack said that Chesnoff said the insanity defense is rarely successful.

Mack said he was forced during the trial to stay in a sweltering jail cell isolated from his family, dehydrated and sleepless on a hard bed. The conditions led to a deterioration of his mental state, and left him vulnerable to pressure from his lawyers, he said.

more at the link, including PDF Court Document: State's reply to Mack's reversal of Plea

[TobyTiger]

JUDGE WELLER DENIES MACK'S CLAIMS (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080108/NEWS18/80108027&theme=)

Judge Chuck Weller, the family court judge who was shot in his court chambers in 2006, today denied claims by Darren Mack and others that he demanded $5 million from Mack in exchange for supporting Mack’s guilty plea agreement.

“I never said that to anyone and I never authorized anyone to say it on my behalf,” Weller said. “I am an honest and an ethical judge.”

In a declaration released Monday, Mack said that Weller and his lawyer, Cal Dunlap, called Mack’s former lawyer David Chesnoff and said they would go along with the plea deal if Mack paid him the money.

“I went back to the bench after being shot by Darren Mack because I believe the judiciary has an obligation to stand up against attacks against it,” Weller said.

When asked whether he planned to file a civil suit against Mack, Weller said he did not know.

“I still don’t know what I’m going to do,” Weller said.

more at the link

[TobyTiger]

JUDGE CANCELS MACK SENTENCING (http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080110/NEWS18/80110056&oaso=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews)

Judge Douglas Herndon has canceled next week’s sentencing for Darren Mack, and has instead opened those two days to allow for a longer hearing on Mack’s request to withdraw his guilty pleas, a court spokesman said today.

The plea hearing is set for Tuesday and Wednesday in Washoe District Court, and if he failed, the sentencing was to occur Thursday and Friday. But Herndon said that because the witness list and motions for the plea hearing is so long, he wanted to allow enough time to complete the process, said court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer.

“He said that sentencing would be continued so they could spend the time completing the motion to withdraw plea,” Sommermeyer said.

“I am resetting the sentencing, should it need to occur, for Feb. 7 and 8,” Herndon told Sommermeyer in an e-mail.

more at the link