Word: weinglass
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...Harrises intend to appeal, maintaining that the jury was prejudiced against them. Defense Attorney Leonard Weinglass insisted that the five men and seven women who debated the Harrises' fate for 8½ days had been "tainted." Two members of the jury panel, who were not selected for the final twelve, accused Juror Ronald F. Pruyn of saying in advance of the trial that the Harrises' guilt was "a foregone conclusion," a claim that Pruyn later denied on the stand. An old newspaper carrying a story on Patty Hearst's kidnaping was found...
...violence-preaching Harrises have been largely abandoned by the remnants of the militant left, and at the outset, they themselves ruled out any special fund raising efforts. That left the defense too pinched for elaborate investigation and preparation. The defendants, however, did have as their chief strategist Leonard Weinglass, veteran of the Chicago Seven trial, who was paid out of public funds. In addition, Bill Harris, 31, was permitted to represent himself; Emily, 29, was also active in the defense...
...Weinglass and the Harrises had no complaints about Prosecutor Samuel Mayerson, who laid out his case with cool, professional thoroughness. But emotional clashes almost immediately erupted between the defense and Judge Mark Brandler, 66. On occasion Harris lost his temper and once cursed Brandler. A bitter defense disappointment came when Brandler refused to bar admission of a tape sent to an L.A. radio station on which Harris talked about the shootout; both defense and prosecution experts had testified that the tape could have been altered...
Adding to the Harrises' troubles, Patty belatedly offered to testify against them. Weinglass thought that Patty's accusatory testimony might backfire by seeming self-serving. But another of Brandler's unfavorable rulings really boxed the defendants in. If the Harrises took the stand, Brandler held, the prosecution had the right to cross-examine them on some of their writings which discussed Patty's kidnaping and a bank robbery that otherwise could not be mentioned to the jury. Shortly after that decision, Harris stunned the courtroom. "In light of the court's ruling today, I make...
Just Joy Riding. Bill Harris did argue his cause to the jury in a closing statement, however, saying the Government is "trying to convict us for our beliefs." For his part, Weinglass contended that the Government had not proved its case. The Harrises, he said, were not guilty of the shooting since Patty was not authorized to use guns by the S.L.A. He also claimed that taking the four vans and cars was more like joy riding than stealing, and that the two owners had been taken along without intent to kidnap. This last argument, especially, was fairly flimsy stuff...