Editorial: All Claiborne asked: Listen to my story

Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004 | 8:49 a.m.

Since Monday night, when a seriously ill Harry Claiborne committed suicide at age 86, a lot of people have been thinking of him. Those who knew him offered testimonials to his character and his brilliant law career, which included his 1978 appointment by President Jimmy Carter to the federal bench in Las Vegas. They said his qualities as a fair and committed judge were developed during the years he spent as Nevada's premier defense attorney, years in which he took on many cases for no pay.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lloyd George, the man the new federal building downtown is named for, said, "He had a genius about him, especially in criminal cases. He was also the best storyteller in the world, and he knew how to keep people in stitches." Dan Newburn, Claiborne's pastor at the Summerlin Community Baptist Church, thought of Claiborne's genuine good will: "He had friends from the highest echelon to those with the most meager jobs."

What also comes up during remembrances of Claiborne is that he was convicted of income tax evasion in 1984 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was removed from the bench in 1986 following an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate. It wouldn't be right, however, to believe those are the salient facts of the case, which is one that defined prosecutorial abuse.

The late Hank Greenspun, the Sun's founder and publisher, led the paper's extensive coverage of the case. His words from a May 23, 1986, column put the charges in true perspective. "What (the Sun staff) proved, and solely through government confidential documents, was that (Claiborne) was targeted for prosecution and dismissal from the federal judiciary long before any crime was alleged or any evidence of a crime was discovered."

Twenty years ago the issue for us was not his guilt or innocence. The issue, then and now, was the way in which his accusers turned a deaf ear toward justice. We hope those who are new to Claiborne's story will ponder his words to the Senate during his trial: "Somewhere, someplace, someone is going to take the time to listen to my story." It would be time well spent.