Word: hazell
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...Salvatore Cucinotta, a Philadelphia lawyer who describes his specialty as "personal injury work-not basic rear-enders, but serious stuff, like burns and sexual assault cases." His ticket to Washington: U.S. vs. Morrison, in which Cucinotta urged the court to approve dismissal of drug charges against his client, Hazel Morrison, on the ground that federal narcotics agents had interfered with her right to counsel. Cucinotta argued the case in December, and it was decided last week. TIME Correspondent Evan Thomas followed the attorney's judicial odyssey to the end. His report...
Cucinotta calls Morrison "Hazel's case," but it is his too. Charged with selling heroin, Hazel Morrison, a black woman of 35, hired Cucinotta to represent her for $200. But before he could, two federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents went to Morrison's home. They were blunt: "Your lawyer is going to make an ass out of himself, and you too," said one. Get rid of Cucinotta, they urged, and help the DEA finger a bigger pusher in return for leniency. If she refused, they said, she could expect a "stiff sentence" from the judge, who "hates black...
Morrison refused and called Cucinotta. He stormed off to court. The agents had so grossly violated Hazel's right to counsel, he argued, that the charges should be dropped. At first the agents denied any wrongdoing. But Cucinotta tricked them. On a table he placed two tape cassettes marked with the name of one of the agents. Thinking-wrongly-that Cucinotta had taped their talk with Hazel, the agents grudgingly told the truth...
...prosecutor and judge were furious and threatened Cucinotta with contempt and criminal charges for wiretapping. Finally Cucinotta persuaded them that the tapes contained nothing. Hazel was convicted and sentenced to five years...
...Cucinotta's surprise, his appeal succeeded: the charges against Morrison were thrown out, on grounds that her right to counsel had indeed been violated. Since the remedy was unusual and drastic, the Supreme Court decided to review the case. This meant that Cucinotta would be defending not just Hazel Morrison but also a key principle: the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship...