Gates, County Clash on Outside Lawyers’ Role in Jail Hearing

Sheriff Brad Gates and county officials clashed Tuesday over whether the county will hire outside lawyers to help with jail-overcrowding lawsuits and whether those lawyers will represent Gates alone or the county as well.

An original draft of a contract for outside legal help spoke of defending “the county” and called for channeling all jail-overcrowding lawsuits through the county counsel’s office.

But a revised contract submitted by the law firm that represents Gates in another lawsuit--and is seeking to represent him on jail matters--spoke of defending “the (Sheriff’s) Department” and bypassed the county counsel’s office.

“This is unacceptable,” Assistant County Administrative Officer Murry L. Cable said in a letter to Gates Tuesday. “By copy of this letter, I am directing county counsel to terminate any further activities related to this subject.”

County Counsel Adrian Kuyper said the revised contract “signals . . . a parting of the ways of the Board (of Supervisors) and Sheriff.”

Gates and the Board of Supervisors were found in contempt of a federal court order two years ago for not ending overcrowding in the Orange County Jail.

On Monday, Gates alone was threatened with a contempt-of-court ruling by the presiding judge of the Central Orange County Municipal Court for trying to avoid overcrowding in the jail by turning away some people whom judges had ordered arrested.

Gates appeared in court before Municipal Judge Gary P. Ryan with attorney Eric L. Dobberteen, whose Los Angeles law firm is also representing him at county expense in a federal lawsuit unrelated to the jail.

County officials, speaking on the condition that they would not be identified, said he should have used the county counsel’s office, not Dobberteen, to represent him at the Monday hearing. The same officials said Gates apparently believes that there could be instances in which the county counsel’s office would not be able to represent both him and the supervisors because of conflict-of-interest problems.

The sheriff did not refer to that issue in a brief telephone interview, saying that he had “not asked the county to pay for anything” and had Dobberteen appear because the legal papers were served on the lawyer. But county officials said they believed that Gates brought Dobberteen into court with the expectation the supervisors would pay.

Gates said that more than a month ago he and county officials agreed that “we needed some assistance in the jail litigation.”

“I think all of us felt a firm that was fully experienced at the federal court on a normal basis . . . would be of assistance to all of us,” Gates said.

But Kuyper said in a memo Monday, after Gates’ court appearance, that there were problems with the revised contract given to him on March 23 by Dobberteen.

“If the sheriff is permitted . . . to employ private counsel whenever he desires on any particular matter, there will be some difficulties,” Kuyper said.

He said that in some cases the sheriff could settle a complaint with someone and leave the county as defendant. In other cases, the county might need Gates’ written consent to defend its own officials.

But Kuyper also warned that the revised contract could hurt Gates and help the county by letting the county try to win dismissal of jail-overcrowding lawsuits against the board and leave the sheriff as a defendant, “since the focus is on jail operations, as opposed to the provision of jail space.”

County Counsel’s Role

Normally the county counsel’s office represents the county and officials such as the sheriff who are sued in court. It also offers them legal advice on a host of issues.

A deputy county counsel has represented Gates and the county in the federal lawsuits over overcrowding in the main men’s jail in Santa Ana that led two years ago to a judge’s finding Gates and the supervisors in contempt of court.

In cases in which the county counsel has a conflict of interest or where the subject is especially complex, however, the county hires outside lawyers. It did so, for example, when the county was sued over expansion of John Wayne Airport.

Two weeks ago, County Administrative Officer Larry Parrish said “the sole purpose of hiring outside counsel” on jail matters “is to provide an added level of expertise due to the unique circumstances of our jail litigation.”

Kuyper and Cable said the revised contract did not meet that criterion and instead switched the focus to “independent representation” of Gates.

Riley “a Little Surprised’

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley said Tuesday that “no decision has been made (by the Board of Supervisors) relative to any agreements or action by county counsel.”

Riley did say most of the supervisors “were at least a little surprised . . . that the sheriff did have (private) counsel” at Monday’s hearing and wondered “why we would have to pay for it.”

Dobberteen is representing Gates in a federal lawsuit brought by former Municipal Judge Bobby D. Youngblood that accuses the sheriff of harassing Youngblood for political purposes. The county is paying Dobberteen in that case.

Dobberteen submitted a proposed contract on March 23 saying his firm would represent Gates, not the county, in legal proceedings, at a cost of $135 to $185 an hour for each of three attorneys who might be used, and lesser fees for paralegals and associates in the firm.

Gates and the supervisors discussed the Youngblood suit and jail lawsuits at a closed hearing Tuesday, but participants refused to comment on those discussions because they involve pending legal matters.