Judge issues threat in biker case

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Monday, April 25, 2005 | 11:06 a.m.

District Judge Donald Mosley threatened lawyers representing members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang with possible disbarment if they aren't prepared to go to trial on July 25.

Mosley said he would request a show cause hearing before Chief Judge Nancy Hardcastle and a jury to determine whether the defense attorneys have been acting in bad faith and trying to "manufacture a new trial date" through underhanded methods.

Mosley said if any of the attorneys were found to be engaging in such conduct at the show cause hearing he would contact the Nevada Bar Association and seek to have the licenses of those attorneys "suspended indefinitely."

"If you think I'm fooling with you just try me," Mosley said.

The judge said the defense has had over a year to deal with what is essentially a discovery issue and said they need to "make it work or suffer the consequences."

The lawyers are representing Hells Angels members facing murder charges for their alleged involvement in the deadly riot at the 2002 Laughlin River Run that resulted in the deaths of 50-year-old Robert Emmet Tumelty, 27-year-old Jeramie Dean Bell and 43-year-old Anthony Salvador Barrera.

On April 1, Mosley told the attorneys he had a surprise in the works for them. "If you want to fall on the sword for your clients, that sword will be made available to you" via the surprise, he told the lawyers.

On Friday, Mosley said, "A few weeks ago I told you I would provide the sword for those who wanted to fall on the sword for your clients. Now you must decide if you want to fall on it." Mosley said Friday.

Mosley has expressed frustration with the two sides' dispute over videotape evidence, specifically whether or not the defense attorneys have access to the same videotape evidence prosecutors have recovered from the security cameras at Harrah's.

Prosecutors have made copies of the 438 tapes from Harrah's available to the defense attorneys, but those were second and third generation copies of the tapes. The defense lawyers said they needed access to the master copies because they are clearer and represent in greater detail what happened the night of the incident.

The defense attorneys also contend they still haven't been given access to all of the tapes recovered from Harrah's.

After Friday's hearing, one of the lawyers, Mike Powell, said, "I'm a defense attorney and I guess it's my job to fall on the sword of my client, I mean that's the Sixth Amendment, right?"

In reaction to Mosley's desire to hold a show cause hearing Powell smiled and said, "I like the jury part."

"It's his (Mosley's) courtroom and he's trying to move forward with this case," Powell said. "Everyone is confused though because there are over 500 videotapes and in the course of a tape the camera angles change 130 times."

Powell emphasized that he and his colleagues were simply trying to have the same opportunity to look at all of the videotape evidence that the prosecution was given.

He said having access to all the security videos was essential because you "can't cross-examine a videotape."

He said because of the massive amount of videotape evidence the jury will view in the case it would ultimately be justice sought largely through a "film festival."