The Sheriff's Defense Attorney

The current Orange County Business Journal has a good article on the lawyers squaring off in the upcoming trial of Sheriff Mike Carona. The OCBJ piece gives special focus on the Sheriff's attorney, H. Dean Steward:

Career-Making Case Pits U.S. Attorneys Against Renowned Defense Lawyer

By Jessica C. Lee

Three lawyers are preparing for what could be the biggest and most salacious case in county history: the trial of Sheriff Mike Carona.

Two seasoned government prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Julian and Brett Sagel of the Santa Ana office, are set to face off with a well-regarded defense lawyer, H. Dean Steward—himself the son of a federal prosecutor.

The controversial trial of Carona, deemed “America’s sheriff” after his lead role in the hunt for Samantha Runnion’s killer in 2002, stands to catapult all three lawyers into national attention. The trial is set for June.

“This is a once in a lifetime for everybody,” said Lawrence Rosenthal, professor at Orange-based Chapman University School of Law. “This is the kind of case that makes an attorney’s career go down in history.”

Steward, a San Clemente lawyer known for his work in federal cases, has defended Carona for the past three years after the sheriff was referred to him.

Julian and Sagel have handled business fraud, government bribery and child molestation cases for the U.S. Attorney’s office.

At the center of the case is whether Carona is guilty of a broad conspiracy since he was elected as county sheriff-coroner in 1998.

After a three-year investigation of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Julian and Sagel indicted Carona on Oct. 30 for allegedly using his office to enrich himself and friends by accepting cash and gifts. His wife Deborah Carona and Newport Beach lawyer Debra Hoffman, referred in the indictment as Carona’s longtime mistress, also are charged.

Sheriff Carona faces an additional charge of witness tampering after allegedly attempting to persuade former friend and major fundraiser Don Haidl to lie to a federal grand jury. Haidl is set to be a key witness in the trial.

The case involves one other notable legal name: Judge Andrew Guilford.

He’s a former lawyer with the Costa Mesa office of Los Angeles law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP who took part in the county’s last high-profile fight in 2005, representing Anaheim in its legal fight versus Arte Moreno’s Angels Baseball LP.

President Bush nominated Guilford to be a judge in 2006.

Until now, the three lawyers working on the Carona trial have kept relatively low profiles.

Julian, who’s deputy chief of the Santa Ana U.S. Attorney’s office (see story, page 4), led the investigation of a Santa Ana outpatient surgery center that led to felony charges of defrauding health insurance companies of $34 million in 2004.

Last year, he was the lead prosecutor on the indictment of Jose Abel Flores, a correctional officer at the Santa Ana Jail, for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband for inmates.

Sagel helped prosecute and convict five Utah residents for their roles in a fraudulent scheme to obtain refund checks from the Internal Revenue Service in 2003.

He also led the prosecution of Jamie Watkins, a former operations manager for the Santa Ana office of Deloitte Consulting LLP who in February pled guilty to defrauding the Deloitte Touche USA LLP unit of more than $500,000.

Sagel currently is heading the prosecution of Nelson Mercado, a former bodyguard who in 2006 was accused of impersonating a federal agent in order to persuade Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to hire him.

Julian and Sagel didn’t respond to calls for comment for this story.

They face a worthy adversary in Steward, according to legal sources.

Steward has been a trial lawyer for nearly 30 years. He’s considered by some to be the top defense lawyer in OC for federal cases.

About 70% of Steward’s practice focuses on white-collar crime defense work, he said. Narcotics cases and others make up the rest.

Steward is no stranger to controversial cases and unsavory characters.

He defended former Santa Ana councilman Ted Moreno, who was convicted and jailed in 2000 for accepting $31,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

His claim to fame: defending Barry Mills, founder of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang.

Mills was sentenced to life in prison last year after a federal grand jury charged him and others with orchestrating a series of prison murders and violent attacks.

The sentence was seen as a victory for Steward. Prosecutors and most trial watchers expected the death penalty for Mills.

Steward wouldn’t speak in depth on the Carona case. He said that it will be treated like any other white-collar criminal case.

When asked how Carona is faring these days, Steward said, “Under the circumstances, I think Carona is handling it really well.”

Steward called a plea bargain unlikely.

With his federal court experience, Steward beat out the county’s other “go-to” criminal defense lawyers who specialize in state cases, legal observers said.

They include Allan Stokke of Santa Ana’s Stokke & Riddet, John Barnett of Orange and Ronald Brower of Santa Ana.

Stokke, who practiced as a prosecutor before becoming a defense attorney, said that both sides face a slew of challenges in the Carona trial.

A challenge facing Carona’s defense team could be explaining all of the acts in the indictment, Stokke said.

“It could possibly make the jury prejudice, making it much harder for defense to get a fair trial,” Stokke said.

Carona’s strong public image prior to the controversy could hurt prosecutors’ ability to sway the jury, according to Stokke.

The sheriff’s high-profile allies, including Republican lawyer Michael Schroeder and Flash Report publisher Jon Fleischman, could work to bolster Carona’s image during the trial.

It could pose a challenge for prosecutors, Chapman’s Rosenthal said.

“This truly is a puzzling case,” he said. “Both teams will have to overcome hurdles.”

Comments

Well unfortunately we all know that the usual outcome is. Plea deals in Federal court are by far the common practice. Th US Attorneys hate going to trial and with minimum sentencing guidelines in place they have the upper hand when it comes to making plea deals. On the flip side, we all saw what happens when the US Attorney go to trial. Look at the Border Patrol Agents in Texas for example. The US Attorney hid discovery and allowed their star witness and so called victim to continue to traffic drugs during the days leading to the trial. The US Attorney is not always the person wearing the clean white hat! By the way we saw what the Federal Government did with their staged FEMA press conference. Bottom line is unless this case goes to trial we will never know what the Feds really had as it related to their evidence in this case.

[Stem cells from skin cells!]

Jaramillo: Mission Accomplished!

[We already know]

"Bottom line is unless this case goes to trial we will never know what the Feds really had as it related to their evidence in this case."

We ALL know already from too many credible sources through Carona's term about the scandal after scandal he has brought to OCSD. It started with his hiring of Jaramillo and Haidl. That was HIS fault. What they did they did with HIS nod and approval. The rampant marital infidelity is a well-known fact, as is his wife's activity within the jail commissary and pay phones. So much more is going to come to light if Carona DOESN'T plea bargain.

I don't really care as long as he goes to prison one way or another. The man is a criminal of the worst kind - using the office of Sheriff as a shield to carry out unethical and immoral activity. Shame on Carona.

[Musing]

I wonder how much $ Carona's defense is going to cost him. I'm sure it's going to be well into six figures, maybe more! Can he use campaign money for his defense? If he were to use donations for his defense, would he have to report that money as taxable income?

Even if Carona were to "win" at trial, and that does not mean he's innocent, he's almost assuredly through as sheriff (If he doesn't resign, he'll be recalled!) and he'll be financially devastated. Let's not forget that even if Carona is not convicted, the IRS can still pursue him administratively for back taxes.

[redperegrine]

What's the deal on the commissary & payphones at the jail. Please explain.

[Also Station 18]

Carona will take a plea. He will not risk a conviction and losing his 200K a year pension. The Feds have him where they want him. His attorney will get through Carona's ego, limit his exposure to prison and we can finally restore some integrity to the Sheriff's Dept.

To "We already know" besides your moral issues with Carona what are the law violations. Scandals and law violations are different. You have already convicted someone based on your moral standards. Good thing you are so perfect and better yet make sure you recuse yourself from any jury duty should you be called to serve. To "Also Station 18" Ummm how do I say this. Well I'll be blunt a plea would constitute a conviction! You dont make a plea of innocence and the case goes away. Looks like you need to get up to speed on the criminal process.

[Also Station 18]

You are correct sir. What I meant was I don’t believe Carona would risk going to trial and getting convicted by a Federal jury. He would take a plea deal prior to going to trial. Also a conviction by a jury would mean more time in prison, a plea deal prior to the trial would save him time behind bars.

[HID Light]

Good topic.I really like it.Steward has been a trial lawyer for nearly 30 years. He’s considered by some to be the top defense lawyer in OC for federal cases.