Partner Must Face Charges Over Wiretapping Billionaire's Ex (MORE, CLICK HERE)

Partner Must Face Charges Over Wiretapping Billionaire's Ex
New York Lawyer - January 8, 2008
By Amanda Bronstad - The National Law Journal

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in Los Angeles has rejected two motions seeking to dismiss charges against lawyer Terry Christensen in the government's wiretapping and racketeering case against private investigator Anthony Pellicano.
The rulings, which were issued last month, were unsealed and provided to the public on Monday.

For more than two years, federal prosecutors have pursued charges against more than a dozen individuals with links to Pellicano, a celebrity sleuth frequently hired by lawyers on behalf of clients. Christensen, the only lawyer indicted as part of the wiretapping probe, is accused of paying at least $100,000 to Pellicano, who illegally wiretapped the phones of Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, the ex-wife of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, during a child custody dispute six years ago. He is currently a partner at Los Angeles-based Christensen, Glaser, Fink, Jacobs, Weil & Shapiro.

In one motion, Christensen had sought to dismiss the charges against him because investigators illegally submitted audio recordings that were supposed to be protected under attorney-client privilege. Those audio recordings were obtained during a search of Pellicano's office and include a conversation between Christensen and Pellicano.

Alternatively, he sought to toss the audio recordings from the case.

U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer, for the Central District of California, refused to dismiss the charges on those grounds, noting that investigators still have a case based on related non-privileged information. But she agreed to conduct an in camera review of the audio recordings to determine if they are privileged.

The motion is the only one to seek dismissal based on attorney-client privilege issues.

Terree Bowers, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Howrey, who represents Christensen, said he has appealed the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He declined to comment further.

In the second ruling, Fischer rejected a request brought by Christensen and Pellicano to conduct a Franks hearing in relation to a search warrant.

"Obviously, we're very pleased with the judge's rulings on these two motions," said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

Last month, Fischer rejected six related motions to dismiss the indictment.