THE SINCLAIR CASE
Chapter Eleven: The Trial Must Go On
The Istrouma network and other spectators began to slowly file back into the courtroom. The other spectators appeared to be mostly attorneys. Some were law students. They had one thing in common – an inordinate interest in the “the Sinclair case.” I had become an object of public curiosity.
English was clearly relieved when LeBlanc entered the courtroom from an adjacent chamber. The judge was a silver-haired, 68-year-old man who was enormously proud of his reputation as a tough, mean judge. He believed in sending those who got on the wrong side of the law to the state penitentiary, particularly if they were black.
“Hear ye, hear ye, all rise,” the bailiff said before the judge sat down. “The court of the Honorable Fred S. LeBlanc, in and for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, is now session.”
“Be seated, please,” LeBlanc said as he sat down.
“Mr. English,” LeBlanc spoke, confidently, “the clerk found this motion and order which was filed by you and Mr. Favrot on March 20, 1966, in which you state that as attorneys for the defendant you had arranged to have the defendant examined by Doctor Curtis A. Steele and Doctor Allen M. Johnstone to determine sanity or insanity of the accused at the time of the commission of the crime. The order states the physicians are of the opinion they can perform their duties more efficiently in their private offices rather than in the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail. The order commanded Sheriff Bryan Clemmons to transport the accused to the offices of Dr. Johnstone and Dr. Steele so that they could examine him. The examinations were to take place no later than June 3, 1966.
”So, as I stated earlier, this motion has to do with his alleged insanity at the time of the commission of the crime. That is not a preliminary matter on which a hearing is required by law. It is something that would come up during the course of the trial if you saw fit to introduce evidence on that issue; and if this defendant was not examined more than once by those two experts it was the fault of defense counsel and not the court. So if you don’t have the report of the first examination and if you didn’t have a second examination made, that is a dereliction on the part of defense counsel, and it presents nothing for this court to consider at this time.”
English had reached the end of the road on the insanity issue. Frustration was all he had left.
“That issue was handled by my co-counsel,” he said. “I had nothing to do with these arrangements ---“
“You mean he didn’t handle it?” the judge asked.
“Well, he got one examination made,” English replied, “but I do not have any report prepared in connection with that examination.”
“Well that is not the court’s fault.”
The sour bile of frustration once again rose up in English’s throat.
“But the whole thing is I am not prepared to give this man an adequate defense,” he said. “He is certainly entitled to that under the constitution.”
That argument did not resonate with LeBlanc.
“He’s entitled to have the court appoint a competent lawyer,” LeBlanc said. “The court appointed two lawyers. One of them, because of a death in his family, was relieved of his appointment.”
Favrot told English and me that the motion for a continuance would be granted. He lied to us.
“Well then I ask to be relieved of mine,” English said, almost petulantly.
“Well, the court will not relieve you, Mr. English.”
During this exchange between LeBlanc and English, I managed to tell English to inform the court that I did not wish to proceed any further with him as my attorney.
“If it please the court, I move to withdraw for the further reason,” he informed the court. “The defendant has just advised me that he does not want to go to trial with me since I have told him, as I have told the court, that I am not prepared to give him an adequate defense. He told me he doesn’t wish to go to trial.”
That certainly did not sit well with LeBlanc.
“Well he doesn’t control the trial, Mr. English. The case has been set for trial. You and your co-counsel had three months to get ready. You now tell me very frankly - although I am a little bit amazed by it - that you are not ready to go to trial. I don’t understand that.”
Prevailing case law in 1966 by the Louisiana Supreme Court made a criminal defendant suffer because of his or her attorney’s lack of preparedness. It would take another twenty-five years before the court overturned that case law. Today a criminal defendant cannot be made to suffer because of their attorney’s lack of preparedness. If an attorney states on the record that they are not prepared for trial, the trial judge must grant a continuance.
“I expect the court,” English continued, “I expect consideration. I am telling this court, under oath, that I am not prepared. I wouldn’t come here and tell this court that I am not prepared.”
Ralph Roy cursed under his breath.
“I am not saying you are not telling me that,” LeBlanc interrupted, “but I am saying you’ve had ample time to get prepared and it was your duty under the law to be ready for trial.”
“Well, I do have some other things to do,” English continued to explain the reasons for his lack of preparedness. “My co-counsel was handling the defense of this matter, and I was attending to other matters. I feel, Your Honor, that if trial of this case is so urgent, the court should not have relieved Mr. Favrot of his appointment. He should have been forced to stay here.”
“The reason I relieved him was because I had no assurance of when he could be here. He told me very frankly in your presence –“
“I can’t help that,” English said, taking his turn at interruption.
A voice in the background from where the Istrouma network sat told English to “shut up.”
“ – that due to a death in the family, and a serious illness of his wife, he expected to be in North Louisiana over the weekend. So I have no assurance of when he will get back here. I am complying with the law. We have one competent attorney to defend the accused so we are ready to go to trial.”
“Well counsel is not ready,” English muttered.
“Let me ask you, is this all you have to offer on your motion for continuance?
“I have this written motion here.”
“All right.”
“I have offered to file –“
“You may offer that.”
“And I want to file that.”
“All right.”
“Has Your Honor ruled? I didn’t get Your Honor’s ruling.”
“I have so far ruled that J. St. Clair Favrot is relieved of his appointment in this case. I have not passed on the continuance yet. I am asking you if you have anything else to offer on the continuance.”
The motion for a continuance had been prepared by Favrot before he left Baton Rouge—a motion he knew would be denied. It did not offer a single legitimate reason to grant a continuance.
“Well, I object to the ruling relieving Mr. Favrot of his appointment,” English said. “I certainly want to object to that. I didn’t know the court planned to do that. That comes as a surprise.”
\“Well the motion specifically requested that the court to relieve him of his appointment,” LeBlanc explained “It does not offer any basis for a continuance. That’s why I relieved Mr. Favrot of his appointment. I think he made a sufficient showing to be relieved.”
Attending to funeral arrangements during the bereavement of a wife over the loss of her mother was not, by any stretch of the legal imagination, a “sufficient showing” to relieve an attorney of his appointment in a capital case, especially with co-counsel telling the court he was not prepared for trial.
While Favrot had styled the motion as a “motion for a continuance,” it was actually a motion seeking to be relieved of his appointment to the case. He was not concerned about either English or me. He had often expressed an intense displeasure that Brown and Kleinpeter had been allowed to walk away from the case while he was forced to accept the appointment. He was a District Attorney at heart. His true allegiance lay with the prosecution, not the defense. The death of his mother-in-law was nothing more than a convenient exit out of an appointment he resented.
But English was not ready to casually accept the deception once it became clear to him.
“Well, he advised me when he would be back in Baton Rouge,” he informed the court. “He advised me – and I now feel at liberty to so advise the court - that he would be back in the city before the end of the week.”
English was aware that Judge LeBlanc had already put in the record the fact that Favrot told the judge he expected to be gone through the coming weekend.
“It’s all contingent upon the health and well-being of members of his family,” LeBlanc said, flushed that English was forcing him to clarify the record. “He is the only male of the family. I have no specific assurance of when he will return to Baton Rouge. This thing could go on for months without Mr. Favrot being in a position to return to Baton Rouge and defend this. I think he made a sufficient showing in his conversations with me in chambers and in his affidavit in support of the motion to be relieved of his appointment. I cannot, however, in good conscience relieve you of your appointment because you are competent to defend the defendant. You were appointed three months ago, and if you are not ready you should have been ready because that was the purpose of appointing you, to be ready to defend him on the date that the case was set for trial.
“So all I want to know now is do you have anything further to offer on your motion for a continuance.”
English was determined to get as much evidence in the record as he could.
“Yes, I certainly do, Your Honor,” he said. “For further reason I ask to be relieved of this appointment because I am under a doctor’s care myself, and if I could be allowed time, I can get a doctor’s certificate to that effect. I never thought this would become necessary, but I can get a doctor’s certificate. I certainly don’t propose under the circumstances to undertake this trial that could last for days and be quite an ordeal because I think it would be injurious to my health.”
A health issue had worked for Favrot so English decided to play the card as well.
“Well, you didn’t say anything to me about this before,” LeBlanc responded.” I had no information whatever ---“
“I am saying it now.”
Judge LeBlanc knew what English was doing. He reacted quickly to minimize any damage it would have on appeal.
“If you become critically ill during the course of the trial I will declare a mistrial,” he said. “I have sat up here with the flu myself in a jury case, so sick I could hardly hold up my hand, but I stuck it out because I knew if I quit I would have to declare a mistrial. I am not bragging, but we all have our illnesses and so forth. I see you around the court practically every day. I will tell you now if you become seriously ill during the course of the trial I will, of necessity, declare a mistrial, but I don’t foresee that at all.”
The judge knew English would not fake an illness during the trial. The attorney had played the health card for the record.
“I trust I won’t have to fall out or something,” English muttered.
The Istrouma network burst into derisive laughter. Bereavement, health or fairness was not on their mind. They wanted unfettered revenge. They assumed a political and cultural right to it.
Judge LeBlanc was losing his patience.
“Is there anything else you want to tell me, Mr. English?”
“I have explained the situation as thoroughly as I can.”
“ Well, if you think your explanation is adequate, submit the matter and I will rule on it.”
English had stretched the rope as far as he could.
“I rely on the motion then.”
Roy had lurked in the background, waiting for the right moment to pierce the heart.
“Judge, may I be heard before you pass on it?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“I would like the record to show that J. St. Clair Favrot was not in court when this motion was heard.”
“I believe counsel will stipulate. Will you not stipulate?”
“Yes,” English responded. “He signed the motion and now he is gone. I don’t know what effect that would have. He joined me in the motion.”
“I just want the record to show that he was not in court when the motion was filed and argued,” Roy said.
“Will you stipulate that Mr. Favrot was not in court when this motion for continuance was taken up this afternoon?” LeBlanc asked English.
English was prepared to stipulate, but Roy’s demeanor stirred his professional curiosity.
“What is your purpose, Mr. Roy?” he asked.
“Because I can’t look him in the eye and cross-examine him, that’s the purpose.”
“Will you stipulate to that?” LeBlanc pressed.
“Well, that is a fact,” English replied.
“It is a fact,” the judge said. “I will agree with you, so will you stipulate?”
“Yes, and I so advise the court that he is not going to be here.”
“Yes, sir, we know about that,” LeBlanc added, trying to shut off any more argument. “He is not here today, and all counsel wanted you to do was to stipulate that he was not here.”
“I am willing to stipulate that he is not here.”
“When you filed the motion and when the motion was heard,” the judge added.
“Yes, and I think I will go far enough to say he is probably out of town, out of the jurisdiction of this court.”
“Is there anything else you want to say, Mr. Roy?” Judge LeBlanc asked.
“No, sir.”
“Well under the law,” LeBlanc ruled, “a motion for continuance shall be tried summarily and contradictorily with the opposing party. The evidence shows to the satisfaction of the court that the defendant is not entitled to a continuance.”
“To which ruling counsel for the defendant objects and files a bill,” English responded. “Counsel further urges his motion to withdraw from the case.”
“Yes, sir,” LeBlanc said. “Well I will overrule your motion for the second time, Mr. English.
The birth of a silent rage—one that would guide me over the next four decades—stirred in the dark recesses of my brain. I tried to address the court, not knowing what I would say but knowing it would not be polite.
“I object to that as well,” English said.
He paused for effect.
“And the defendant would like to address the court,” he said casually.
Judge LeBlanc looked as though he had been struck across the forehead with a board. The audacity of my request to address him exploded like a bean fart in his brain.
“Sir?”
English was at least relishing that moment.
“The defendant says he would like to address the court,” he repeated.
“No,” LeBlanc said sternly, recovering from his shock. “He has to address the court through counsel. He can tell you what he wants to tell me, and you can tell me.”
There was a brief off-the-record conversation between me and English about what he should convey from me to the judge.
“He wants to advise Your Honor that his life is at stake, and since I am not prepared to give him an adequate defense, he doesn’t want to go to trial.”
LeBlanc did not look at me. He refused to acknowledge my existence, much less my humanity.
“Well, the charge is murder, and the court will take judicial notice of that fact. Do you want your witnesses called, either side?”
“Yes, sir, the State is ready,” Roy said.
“Do you want the defense witnesses called, Mr. English?”
“There are no defense witnesses subpoenaed. Mr. Favrot was supposed to that take care of that.”
“Well, the trial was set for yesterday.”
“I know, Your Honor ---“
“And you have to subpoena witnesses before the trial date in order to get them here.”
“Well, Mr. Favrot was supposed to take care of that,” English said calmly, and sat down.
And the trial went on.