Martinez Might Lose Court-Appointed Lawyer

A Superior Court judge draped a veil of secrecy Tuesday over consideration of whether a recent pay raise for the San Diego City Council will deprive indicted Councilman Uvaldo Martinez of his court-appointed lawyer.

Judge Richard Huffman said he would conduct a closed hearing next month to determine whether the pay hike--which increased council members’ salaries from $35,000 to $40,000 per year--means Martinez must pay for his own defense on 24 felony charges of misusing a city-issued credit card.

Martinez, accused of misappropriating and falsely accounting for public funds, has had a court-appointed lawyer since February, when Huffman named Raymond J. Coughlan to represent him during the grand jury investigation that resulted in the councilman’s indictment. Martinez’s private attorney had ceased representing him in the probe when Martinez was unable to pay his legal bills.

In a brief hearing Tuesday, Huffman set Sept. 29 as the date for Martinez’s trial on charges he illegally used a city credit card to purchase $1,840 worth of meals and drinks on 20 occasions between November, 1984, and June, 1985.

Municipal Judge Joseph K. Davis, who bound Martinez over for trial following a preliminary hearing earlier this month, had requested the review of the councilman’s claim of indigent status.

Huffman directed Martinez to submit a statement of his earnings, assets and liabilities for confidential review by the county Department of Revenue & Recovery. As it does with the cases of virtually all defendants who apply for appointed counsel, the department will make a recommendation to the judge on Martinez’s eligibility.

Huffman said he would review the recommendation and might also question Martinez about his finances during a closed hearing Aug. 12. He said he was ordering the records sealed and the hearing held in secret to protect Martinez’s rights to be represented by counsel and to avoid self-incrimination.

Both Coughlan and Deputy Dist. Atty. Allan Preckel said after the hearing they saw nothing unusual about the secrecy imposed on the financial matters.

But Morris Pion, director of the Department of Revenue & Recovery, said in an interview that defendants’ financial statements often are made part of the record of their cases available for public review at the county courthouse.

He noted that Huffman’s initial decision to grant Martinez a court-appointed lawyer was made without a review by the department--one of only four or five such instances since the review process was set up in 1977.

Martinez could be required to repay the county for Coughlan’s services once the charges against him are resolved.

Testimony at the preliminary hearing established that Martinez often was dining with women with whom he had a social relationship on occasions when he told city auditors he was out with public officials, developers or political supporters discussing city business. Martinez has blamed sloppy record-keeping for errors in his credit card reports.