Tweet
GETTING JUSTICE THE GERAGOS WAY
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2013/06/06/getting-justice-the-geragos-way/
COMMUNITY | JUNE 6, 2013 2:40 PM
By Alin K. Gregorian
Mirror-Spectator Staff
LOS ANGELES - Mark Geragos commands attention. Whether it is in front
of TV cameras or St. James Armenian Church Men's Club in Watertown,
he is able to connect with people. It is almost enough to make one
feel sorry for his opponents in court, in front of juries.
Geragos, who heads Geragos & Geragos, a large law firm in Los Angeles,
has just released a book, Mistrial: An Inside Look at How the Criminal
Justice System Works ... and Sometimes Doesn't, with his law partner
Pat Harris.
In the book, which is written in such a way that lay people would
understand, through anecdotes, Geragos makes suggestions for changes
to the US legal system. Some of his suggestions are appointing judges,
rather than electing them, and allowing them a bigger role in plea
bargaining.
Another suggestion is to change the sentencing for non-violent
drug offenders serving sentences that often surpass those of people
convicted of second-degree murder or sexual assault. He and Harris
suggest that Congress needs to address the issue of alternative
sentencing for drug addicts, as well as the mentally ill.
Most people seem to know Geragos both for the very famous clients he
represents, as well as his proud assertion of his Armenian heritage and
work on behalf of Armenian Genocide descendants. Among those clients
have been Michael Jackson, Chris brown, Winona Ryder and Mike Tyson.
Some, such as Scott Peterson, convicted of first-degree murder, have
been vilified in the media. "I think it is unethical to not take a
client just because they may be toxic to the public," Geragos said.
While the famous clients can pay well, doing the work is that much
harder when there is a media circus, he said. "The media attention
compounds the representation. Having to deal with that magnifies the
defense and makes it quite a bit more time intensive," he noted.
Still, when asked how he accepts cases, he said something about
the client has to appeal to him, even if the client does not have
universal appeal.
One case that he accepted about a year ago and meant a lot to him
involved an older veteran going up against an insurance company
regarding a policy on his house. "The guy was a 90-year-old WWII
veteran and the insurance company was just trying to screw him out
of $24,000 and I felt like they needed to be tried and have the jury
teach them a lesson. Luckily, the verdict came back to hit them with
$8 million in total, $7.5 million of which were punitive damages. And
to think they could've settled the whole thing for $24,000!"
Being a lawyer came naturally to him, as it was a family profession.
"I loved my father - he is my hero. I used to follow him around. I
watched him in court when he was a prosecutor and though I
considered going to divinity school - I was talked out of it by
the then-archbishop - he thought I could do more good as a lawyer,"
said Geragos in an interview.
Geragos was well-respected lawyer, but no more famous than other
lawyers, until he said, the case of Susan McDougal, the then-fiance of
his current law partner, Pat Harris. "I think the trajectory took off
when I represented Susan McDougal in the 1990s. That was a watershed
turning point for me," he said. McDougal had been one of the people
entangled in the White Water case, along with Bill and Hilary Clinton
previously, and thus a focus of a federal criminal probe. The case
which brought her to Geragos involved her employer accusing her of
embezzlement after McDougal's move to Los Angeles. Geragos was able
to clear her of all charges.
(Harris did not end up marrying McDougal. "I've got custody of Pat
Harris and he is married to a wonderful woman named Carol Welsman,
who is an internationally-known jazz singer," Geragos joked.)
It is not only wealthy clients that can enlist the services of
Geragos. He said that at any given time, his firm handles 10-12 pro
bono cases.
Geragos has been rightly lionized in the Armenian community for his
vociferous defense of Armenians not only in TV studios, but in courts.
He and his firm were able to secure a $17 million win in 2005 against
the French insurance giant, Axa. They had accused the company of
benefiting from the deaths of Armenian policy holders during the
Armenian Genocide.
"The Genocide litigation has been extremely personally satisfying to
me and has certainly highlighted my career," he noted.
More recently, Geragos, on Anderson Cooper's CNN show, defended the
community against the repeated accusations of Ruslan Tsarni, the
uncle of alleged Boston Marathon bombers Tamerlan and DzhokharTsarnaev.
"I think it's humbling any time people tell me that [I make them
proud]. Anytime I see an Armenian in the media or an Armenian
accomplishing something, there is a certain pride I feel to be an
Armenian as well," he added.
Geragos said that he sees a shift in attitudes towards lawyers,
one in which defense attorneys are treated more as heroes. "I think
there's been a definite change in the attitudes towards criminal
defense lawyers over time. When I was growing up, you could read
books like To Kill a Mockingbird and they were about noble defenders
of the underdog. Now, not so much," he said.
In the book, he refers to Nancy Grace, the former prosecutor and
current TV host, who can target a defendant vociferously before all
the evidence is in. "She has a following and her followers respect
that kind of lawyer, and I think that has an impact on the people who
watch her and subsequently think that's the way you should approach
a criminal," Geragos explained.
One case in the book that he says drove Grace and other programs
similar to her was that of Scott Peterson, the California man convicted
of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn child. In the book,
Geragos laments that so many untruths were circulated regarding Scott
Peterson, who is currently on death row.
Mistrial is available from Amazon and all major book retailers. For
more information on his law firm, visit www.geragos.com.
From: A. Papazian
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2013/06/06/getting-justice-the-geragos-way/
COMMUNITY | JUNE 6, 2013 2:40 PM
By Alin K. Gregorian
Mirror-Spectator Staff
LOS ANGELES - Mark Geragos commands attention. Whether it is in front
of TV cameras or St. James Armenian Church Men's Club in Watertown,
he is able to connect with people. It is almost enough to make one
feel sorry for his opponents in court, in front of juries.
Geragos, who heads Geragos & Geragos, a large law firm in Los Angeles,
has just released a book, Mistrial: An Inside Look at How the Criminal
Justice System Works ... and Sometimes Doesn't, with his law partner
Pat Harris.
In the book, which is written in such a way that lay people would
understand, through anecdotes, Geragos makes suggestions for changes
to the US legal system. Some of his suggestions are appointing judges,
rather than electing them, and allowing them a bigger role in plea
bargaining.
Another suggestion is to change the sentencing for non-violent
drug offenders serving sentences that often surpass those of people
convicted of second-degree murder or sexual assault. He and Harris
suggest that Congress needs to address the issue of alternative
sentencing for drug addicts, as well as the mentally ill.
Most people seem to know Geragos both for the very famous clients he
represents, as well as his proud assertion of his Armenian heritage and
work on behalf of Armenian Genocide descendants. Among those clients
have been Michael Jackson, Chris brown, Winona Ryder and Mike Tyson.
Some, such as Scott Peterson, convicted of first-degree murder, have
been vilified in the media. "I think it is unethical to not take a
client just because they may be toxic to the public," Geragos said.
While the famous clients can pay well, doing the work is that much
harder when there is a media circus, he said. "The media attention
compounds the representation. Having to deal with that magnifies the
defense and makes it quite a bit more time intensive," he noted.
Still, when asked how he accepts cases, he said something about
the client has to appeal to him, even if the client does not have
universal appeal.
One case that he accepted about a year ago and meant a lot to him
involved an older veteran going up against an insurance company
regarding a policy on his house. "The guy was a 90-year-old WWII
veteran and the insurance company was just trying to screw him out
of $24,000 and I felt like they needed to be tried and have the jury
teach them a lesson. Luckily, the verdict came back to hit them with
$8 million in total, $7.5 million of which were punitive damages. And
to think they could've settled the whole thing for $24,000!"
Being a lawyer came naturally to him, as it was a family profession.
"I loved my father - he is my hero. I used to follow him around. I
watched him in court when he was a prosecutor and though I
considered going to divinity school - I was talked out of it by
the then-archbishop - he thought I could do more good as a lawyer,"
said Geragos in an interview.
Geragos was well-respected lawyer, but no more famous than other
lawyers, until he said, the case of Susan McDougal, the then-fiance of
his current law partner, Pat Harris. "I think the trajectory took off
when I represented Susan McDougal in the 1990s. That was a watershed
turning point for me," he said. McDougal had been one of the people
entangled in the White Water case, along with Bill and Hilary Clinton
previously, and thus a focus of a federal criminal probe. The case
which brought her to Geragos involved her employer accusing her of
embezzlement after McDougal's move to Los Angeles. Geragos was able
to clear her of all charges.
(Harris did not end up marrying McDougal. "I've got custody of Pat
Harris and he is married to a wonderful woman named Carol Welsman,
who is an internationally-known jazz singer," Geragos joked.)
It is not only wealthy clients that can enlist the services of
Geragos. He said that at any given time, his firm handles 10-12 pro
bono cases.
Geragos has been rightly lionized in the Armenian community for his
vociferous defense of Armenians not only in TV studios, but in courts.
He and his firm were able to secure a $17 million win in 2005 against
the French insurance giant, Axa. They had accused the company of
benefiting from the deaths of Armenian policy holders during the
Armenian Genocide.
"The Genocide litigation has been extremely personally satisfying to
me and has certainly highlighted my career," he noted.
More recently, Geragos, on Anderson Cooper's CNN show, defended the
community against the repeated accusations of Ruslan Tsarni, the
uncle of alleged Boston Marathon bombers Tamerlan and DzhokharTsarnaev.
"I think it's humbling any time people tell me that [I make them
proud]. Anytime I see an Armenian in the media or an Armenian
accomplishing something, there is a certain pride I feel to be an
Armenian as well," he added.
Geragos said that he sees a shift in attitudes towards lawyers,
one in which defense attorneys are treated more as heroes. "I think
there's been a definite change in the attitudes towards criminal
defense lawyers over time. When I was growing up, you could read
books like To Kill a Mockingbird and they were about noble defenders
of the underdog. Now, not so much," he said.
In the book, he refers to Nancy Grace, the former prosecutor and
current TV host, who can target a defendant vociferously before all
the evidence is in. "She has a following and her followers respect
that kind of lawyer, and I think that has an impact on the people who
watch her and subsequently think that's the way you should approach
a criminal," Geragos explained.
One case in the book that he says drove Grace and other programs
similar to her was that of Scott Peterson, the California man convicted
of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn child. In the book,
Geragos laments that so many untruths were circulated regarding Scott
Peterson, who is currently on death row.
Mistrial is available from Amazon and all major book retailers. For
more information on his law firm, visit www.geragos.com.
From: A. Papazian