Wednesday, March 7, 2001	Go to: S M T W T F S
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Abu-Jamal takes steps to fire legal team, citing ethical breach

By Joseph A. Slobodzian
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Convicted police killer Mumia Abu-Jamal yesterday moved to fire his longtime legal team, maintaining that one of his attorneys breached ethical guidelines by writing an "inside account" of the case that has become an international cause celebre.

Abu-Jamal's handwritten motion - the first serious sign of dissension among his supporters - was filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. He is on death row for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

The motion contends that on Feb. 24, Abu-Jamal confirmed that defense attorney Daniel R. Williams, a death-penalty specialist from New York, was "in the late processes of publishing a book on the . . . case, purported to be an 'inside account.' "

Such a development - if true - would violate the American Bar Association's Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibit a lawyer from negotiating literary rights based on information received through the confidential attorney-client relationship.

"Counsel has created a clear undeniable conflict of interest based upon the said publication of an 'inside account' which constitutes a breach of client loyalty," Abu-Jamal's motion reads.

Williams could not be reached for comment, and Abu-Jamal's motion provides no details about the purported book or its publisher.

Leonard I. Weinglass, the veteran New York City civil-rights lawyer who for years has campaigned to overturn the conviction, confirmed that he had received Abu-Jamal's handwritten motion, but declined comment.

Another member of Abu-Jamal's legal team, Steve Hawkins of the National Conference of Black Lawyers, also could not be reached for comment, and local counsel Jules Epstein said he knew nothing about the motion.

The motion must be approved by U.S. District Judge William H. Yohn Jr., who is overseeing Abu-Jamal's final appeal in his effort to avoid execution.

If the motion is approved, Abu-Jamal would represent himself until he can hire a new legal team. It would also undoubtedly cause a further delay in his appellate attempt.

Yesterday's surprising development was viewed with anger and optimism by supporters of the execution.

Faulkner's widow, Maureen, released a statement accusing Abu-Jamal of "making a charade out of the legal process."

Faulkner said the motion "is just another in a long line of transparent, offbeat legal ploys employed by a guilty man who hopes to disrupt and prolong the appeal process."

"We're optimistic that this is a sign the deck chairs are being rearranged on the Titanic. . . . There may be a realization among some people that the defense just doesn't hold water," said Michael A. Smerconish, a Center City lawyer, radio talk-show host, and counsel for Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, a nonprofit group started two years ago to counter the celebrity-rich pro-Abu-Jamal campaign.

At issue in the federal appeal is whether Abu-Jamal's constitutional rights were violated during his 1982 trial before Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Albert F. Sabo, and a 1995 state post-conviction appeal hearing Sabo also conducted.

Abu-Jamal, 45, was convicted of shooting Faulkner, a decorated five-year veteran officer who pulled over Abu-Jamal's brother in a traffic stop in Center City. Abu-Jamal, driving a taxi, reportedly passed by, spotted Faulkner and his brother, and parked the cab.

Backup officers, responding to a report of a shooting, found the fatally wounded Faulkner, 25, on the ground, shot at close range in the face, and Abu-Jamal lying nearby, wounded by a bullet from Faulkner's gun. Abu-Jamal's gun, with five spent shells, was also found.

A former radio reporter and Black Panther, Abu-Jamal has always maintained that he was framed by police in the Faulkner murder, and that his defense was undermined by an incompetent trial attorney who did not research his cases or press Judge Sabo for more money to hire experts on pathology and ballistics who might have proved Abu-Jamal was not the shooter.