A judge Tuesday
ruled that 14-year-old Brandon McInerney, accused slayer
of openly gay 15-year-old classmate Lawrence King, may fire
his current lawyers, the Ventura County Star
reports. Ventura County superior court judge Kevin
McGee permitted McInerney to replace the public
defender's office, which has been representing him,
with a private criminal defense firm called the United
Defense Group, based in Los Angeles's Studio City
district. Along with North Hollywood attorney Robyn
Bramson, United Defense Group has reportedly agreed to
take the case on for $1.
According to
witnesses, McInerney shot King in the head on February 12
during first period in a packed classroom at E.O. Green
Junior High School in Oxnard, a largely blue-collar
port city of nearly 200,000 about 60 miles north of
Los Angeles. McInerney is being tried as an adult on
charges of premeditated murder with a special
hate-crime allegation.
Last month McGee
appointed Willard Wiksell, an experienced Ventura
criminal lawyer, to be McInerney's guardian ad
litem, a term denoting a person designated by a
court to take legal action for, and protect the
interests of, a minor. McGee made the appointment in
response to a petition questioning whether the United
Defense Group intended to protect McInerney's
best interests filed by McInerney's then-counsel,
Senior Deputy Public Defender William Quest.
McGee issued his
ruling permitting McInerney to hire a new lawyer after
Wiksell submitted a report and after holding a private
meeting with attorneys from the public
defender's office, United Defense Group, and
others. Senior Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox, who is
prosecuting the case against McInerney, was excluded
from the meeting.
"It's none of our business who the defendant
has as counsel," Fox reportedly told the
Star. "It's purely his
decision."
Also on Tuesday,
McGee refused a request by United Defense Group attorney
Scott Wippert for a gag order prohibiting Quest from
discussing the case with anyone, particularly the
media. Quest had opposed the request.
McGee set a
hearing for October 21 to confirm future dates for the case.
(Peter DelVecchio, The Advocate)
