ASSEMBLY SPEAKER PROPOSES HEARINGS ON RAMPART ISSUES

*Police: County public defender is asked for plan to help lawmakers address
justice system's failures.

State Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg has asked Los Angeles County's
public defender to draft a plan for legislative hearings aimed at
addressing failures in the criminal justice system brought to light by
the unfolding LAPD corruption probe.

"The speaker believes that events we're seeing in Los Angeles have to
be taken very seriously, and that there is a legitimate oversight role
for the Legislature to take on these issues," said Paul Hefner, a
spokesman for Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks).

Public Defender Michael P. Judge responded to the speaker's request in
an April 27 letter to Hertzberg, raising fundamental questions about
the fairness of the county's criminal justice system.

He asked Hertzberg and his legislative colleagues to consider more
than a dozen issues that Judge believes may have been factors in
scores of tainted convictions stemming from arrests by allegedly rogue
officers in the LAPD's Rampart Division and elsewhere.

The public defender called on the Legislature to conduct a
"comprehensive independent assessment" of the criminal justice system
"to determine what reforms would be appropriate to ensure that people
are fairly treated and the innocent not convicted in the future."

Any such probe should go beyond the LAPD, Judge said.

"While many entities have focused on the Police Department, none have
the authority or mission to examine the entire criminal justice
process," Judge wrote.

Hefner said Hertzberg received the public defender's letter Monday and
was considering its contents. "The exact scope of legislative inquiry
has yet to be determined," he said.

While Judge is clearly seeking reforms in the wake of the Rampart
scandal, his points are made by raising a series of questions for
legislators to ponder. Most address issues at the scandal's core:

* Should police be required to tape-record all interviews with
suspects?

* Should all identification procedures, such as photographic lineups,
be conducted by officers who do not know the identity of the suspect
to prevent any undo influencing of a witness?

* Should judges have wider discretion in sentencing defendants as a
way of guarding against innocent people confronted with long mandatory
sentences accepting plea deals?

* Would judges be more independent if they had longer terms of office
and didn't have to run for reelection as often?

* Should there be reforms to better regulate the collection of
information for gang databases?

A key theme in Judge's letter is the need to increase a defense
attorney's access to information that reflects on an officer's
credibility. Lawyers representing individuals accused of crimes long
have argued that prosecutors are hesitant to turn over complaints and
accusations of misconduct against officers who are called to testify
in trials.

Judge also is looking for ways to combat the so-called "code of
silence" that critics say permeates police departments, including the
LAPD. Many officers say that in addition to feeling an allegiance to
their partners, they fear coming forward because they will become the
objects of their colleagues' retaliation.

To that end, the public defender questioned whether there should be
special whistle-blower protections for officers.

Judge said the fact that none of his proposed discussion items dealt
with the role of public defenders should not be interpreted as
evidence that he believes his agency is beyond reproach in the
unfolding corruption scandal.

"This is sort of an initial cut of what I think an agenda might look
like," Judge said in an interview Monday. "I think it would be fair to
examine the role of public defenders . . . and I welcome such scrutiny."

James A. Bascue, assistant presiding judge of the Superior Court, said
there is no doubt that the police corruption scandal demonstrated that
the system "broke down." Hearings such as Hertzberg is weighing might
be beneficial, Bascue said. But the onetime prosecutor added that
Judge and other defense attorneys have a clear stake in such
proceedings: "They're trying to roll back anti-crime legislation of
the past 15 years."

Judge's proposal for legislative hearings dovetails with statements
made two months ago by LAPD Chief Bernard C. Parks, who has said his
agency did not bear sole responsibility for what has become the worst
police corruption scandal in city history.

After unveiling his department's self-critical report on the internal
roots of the police corruption, Parks called on other members of the
criminal justice system to conduct similar reviews.

Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti called the proposed hearings "a marvelous
idea. . . . This is something that not only affects Los Angeles, but I
dare say most every jurisdiction in the state."

Garcetti added that such hearings should solicit the input of every
member of the criminal justice system, including jurors.

"We need to say, 'What more can we do to make sure that the innocent
are protected and the guilty are held accountable?' "

Police Commission President Gerald L. Chaleff supported the
idea.

"The criminal justice system should always be reevaluating itself and
evaluating the impact legislative changes and court decisions have on
the system."

The toll of the Rampart scandal has been considerable and seems to
mount every day.

Prosecutors have successfully moved to overturn at least 67 criminal
convictions because of the involvement of allegedly corrupt officers.
Several people have been released from prison, including a young man
who was serving a 23-year sentence for allegedly attacking police.

More than 30 LAPD officers have either been relieved of duty,
suspended or fired or have quit in the wake of the scandal.

More than 70 are under investigation for either committing police
crimes and misconduct or knowing about such activity and failing to
report it.

The allegations under investigation include officers planting
evidence, intimidating witnesses, perjuring themselves and covering up
unjustified shootings.