Criminal Defense Attorneys

EXCLUSIVE: Conflict claim lodged against district attorney's office

Attorneys for a former Marine accused of killing a French Valley couple have asked a judge to have the Riverside County district attorney's office disqualified from pursuing the case.

The attorneys say the rights of their client, Kevin Cox, to a fair trial have been jeopardized because a high-ranking prosecutor disclosed privileged information to a deputy district attorney on the case.

Riverside Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson III is scheduled to consider the request by Cox's defense attorneys on Sept. 9.

The state attorney general's office has weighed in on the disclosure, stating in court documents that no harm was done, and that District Attorney Paul Zellerbach's office should continue to prosecute the case.

Cox, 23, is one of four former Camp Pendleton Marines who could face the death penalty if convicted of murdering Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak, 24, and his wife, Quiana Faye Jenkins-Pietrzak, 26. The couple were found dead Oct. 15, 2008, in their two-story French Valley home.

Cox's complaint centers on his former attorney, Jeffrey Van Wagenen, who represented him from February 2009 to October 2010. In January, Van Wagenen took a job as an assistant district attorney under newly elected Zellerbach.

According to declarations included in court documents, at the heart of the motion to recuse the district attorney's office is a conversation Van Wagenen had in April during which he mentioned to Deputy District Attorney Ivy Fitzpatrick, who conducted research for the pending trial, a defense strategy he had considered.

Although the possible strategy Van Wagenen conveyed is spelled out in court documents, The Californian has declined to report on its specifics in order to not compromise the pending trial.

The French Valley couple were killed by gunshots to the head, according to the Riverside County coroner's office. Cox and co-defendants Emrys John, 21, Tyrone Miller, 23, and Kesaun Kedron Sykes, 24, are charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors also have filed sentencing enhancements saying the defendants committed rape by foreign object and committed murder in the commission of a robbery. All four have pleaded not guilty.

In his deposition, Van Wagenen states that right after he mentioned the potential defense strategy to Fitzpatrick, he acknowledged he shouldn't have said anything, but figured prosecutors already had considered that defense. He said Fitzpatrick agreed.

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Defense attorneys charge relatively higher than that of large-scale civil litigation attorneys.

The lawyers can also specialize in appellate law. Appellate attorneys can work in both private and government organizations. They spend most of their time in appellate research, presentation of oral arguments, and in the preparation of records and briefs. A wide range of appellate caseload is available in both state and federal courts.

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