JUDGE KICKS LAWYERS OUT - ATTORNEYS: SHEA AIMS - TimesPicayune, The (New Orleans, LA) - November 16, 1995 - page A1
November 16, 1995   Times-Picayune, The (New Orleans, LA)   JAMES VARNEY Staff writer   Page A1

Attorneys Nick T renticosta and Denise LeBoeuf represented Curtis Kyles for seven years, taking
his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. But when the case came before New Orleans
District Judge Frank Shea, he ruled they could no longer act on the death row inmate's behalf.
Betty Cole's students at T ulane University's law school have done a lot of legwork for accused
bank robber Charles T aylor, interviewing witnesses, taking statements and visiting the sites of his
alleged crimes. But Shea won't allow the T ulane Law Clinic to represent T aylor in his courtroom.
Within the last month, Shea barred them all from working in his section of criminal district court,
while trying to have mention of these rulings stricken from the public record of the proceedings,
according to court transcripts and the attorneys.
Shea declined to comment on either matter, citing the ongoing appeal of one case.
On Oct. 31, when T renticosta and LeBoeuf appeared before Shea to file pre-trial motions on behalf
of Kyles, Shea tried to have them removed in what the attorneys considered a particularly
imperious manner.
"You have no standing in this court," Shea said, stomping off the bench.
"Let the record reflect the judge has left the bench and refused to allow Mr. Kyles to file in his own
behalf a motion and memorandum of law," T renticosta said.
"T he record's not going to reflect anything," Shea said, according to a transcript of the
proceedings.
T he attorneys are still stung by Shea's behavior.
"It's a scandal," LeBoeuf said. "I have no history with the man, and I've never been treated in court
like I was invisible."
While they appear bizarre to the defense attorneys, Shea's rulings are within his prerogative, other
judges and attorneys said. Judges are allowed to appoint attorneys for indigent defendants before
them, but they usually welcome attorneys willing to work pro bono to take on a case. T his is
especially true in courts that are swamped with cases, such as criminal court in New Orleans,
attorneys said.
Shea's removal of T renticosta and LeBoeuf was overturned by a state appeals court, while Cole's
is under review. T he attorneys believe that Shea, who is known for his quick work, wants to avoid

 having activist defense attorneys argue cases before him, since that could lead to thorny, timeconsuming trials that might gum up his docket.
T hey note that Shea, 64, is no stranger to controversial behavior on the bench. He is a legend
within the corridors of the criminal court building for once whipping through six felony trials in a
single day. On another occasion he drew a gun on a defendant while presiding from the bench.
"We've had a problem with Shea f or years that we don't have in any other court that I'm aware
of," said Cole, who directs the T ulane Law Clinic where students represent indigent clients.
"He's never been friendly to the clinic, not out of any ideological bias, but because he likes
everything to be familiar and then he doesn't have to work that hard," she said.
LeBoeuf and T renticosta are staff attorneys at the Loyola University Death Penalty Resource
Center. T hey represent defendants on capital cases, usually at the appellate level. Late last year,
the U.S. Supreme Court granted Kyles - convicted of first-degree murder in 1987 - a new trial.
T he two attorneys first crossed swords with Shea on Oct. 20, after District Judge Dennis Waldron,
who recused himself from the case, formally appointed them to defend Kyles in the new trial. Shea
bounced them and assigned an attorney from the Orleans Parish Indigent Defenders Program
over T renticosta's objection, a transcript shows.
Shea was instrumental in establishing the public defender's program in New Orleans, said Numa
Bertel, director of the indigent defender program.
Kyles' new trial will be held before District Judge Raymond Bigelow. But T renticosta is still angry at
what he considers Shea's dictatorial hand.
"I don't know what his problems with us were, but it seems safe to assume he doesn't like to have
good advocates for defendants on his docket," T renticosta said.
Shea's handpicked lawyer for Kyles was Bertel. Bertel said he was delighted that T renticosta and
LeBoeuf won their appeal, given his office's heavy caseload, and said he never asked for Kyles'
case in the first place. He said he disagreed with Shea's ruling, but that it wasn't improper on its
face.
But if Bertel is satisfied and T renticosta placated, Cole remains in limbo. Her students have
developed a strong client-attorney relationship with T aylor, who faces multiple bank robbery
charges.
Cole said it was no surprise T aylor requested the clinic be appointed to his defense.
But, once again, Shea ordered new counsel. In this instance, Cole said Shea's instruction that the
discussion be stricken from the record was followed by the court reporter, and thus no transcript
exists.
Cole complains that not only was she treated with disdain by Shea, but that it is preposterous for a

 judge to deny a defendant the attorney of his choice.
"I've got 20 years experience practicing law and I've never seen anything like it," Cole said.
_________________________
Illustration:
New Orleans District Judge Frank Sjhea is shown in a
file photo. He refuses to comment on two cases in which
he barred several lawyers from working in his section of
criminal district court.
ST AFF FILE PHOT O
Copyrig ht, 1995, The Times-Picayune Publishing Corporation. All Rig hts Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission.