Blake Funding of Aide’s Defense Questioned

Robert Blake’s decision to pay the $1-million bail and bankroll the defense of a bodyguard who allegedly helped the actor plan his wife’s murder last year raises ethical questions about what he may expect for his money, some legal experts say.

“It’s a little bit naive to believe anyone is so charitably inclined that they put up $1 million in cash for somebody’s bail, and also pay that person’s legal fees just out of concern” for them, said Peter G. Keane, dean of the Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco. “That simply defies belief.”

But other experts say the arrangement is fine as long as the defense lawyer for the bodyguard, Earle Caldwell, does not favor Blake’s interests over her client’s.

“In our society, of paramount importance is the right of the accused to counsel of their choice,” said attorney Diane L. Karpman, who specializes in legal ethics.

State Bar of California ethics rules say an attorney may be paid by someone other than the client if “there is no interference with the [attorney’s] independence of professional judgment or with the client-lawyer relationship.”

The financial relationship between Blake and defense attorney Arna H. Zlotnik, who represents Caldwell, seems inappropriate to those who wonder how a criminal defense attorney can accept money from one defendant to represent another in the same case without feeling some loyalty to whoever is paying the bills.

“Blake’s interests are to make sure that Caldwell does not in any way harm Blake,” said Keane, a former chief assistant public defender in San Francisco and an ethics expert. “Caldwell’s interests are to make sure that Caldwell comes out as best he can even if he has to harm Blake.”

Blake and Caldwell were arrested last month and charged in the May 4, 2001, fatal shooting of Blake’s wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, near a Studio City restaurant. They have pleaded not guilty.

Authorities allege that Blake, 68, pulled the trigger. Caldwell, 46, who authorities believe was out of town on the night of the shooting, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Deputy Dist. Attys. Patrick R. Dixon and Gregory A. Dohi said in court documents that Zlotnik’s relationship with Blake “undermines her independence of judgment and casts doubt on the integrity of all proceedings against her client.”

The prosecutors also said Zlotnik may be called as a witness. She was with Caldwell last June when police searched his Burbank apartment and Jeep and found a supply list that authorities say link Caldwell to Blake’s alleged plot to kill Bakley.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lloyd M. Nash is expected to rule Monday on whether Zlotnik may continue to represent Caldwell. She has been Caldwell’s lawyer for almost a year.

Throughout the criminal investigation in the Bakley case, Zlotnik has maintained a low profile, making few public statements. In a motion filed Thursday, she wrote that Caldwell’s “confidence in his lawyer is vital to the defense.”

Blake’s lawyer, Harland W. Braun, said he recommended that Caldwell retain Zlotnik, a former public defender, last year. She works in the same Century City building as Braun and sometimes makes brief court appearances for him.

Braun said Blake had an obligation as an employer under the state’s labor law to pay Caldwell’s legal bills.

Ethics expert Karpman said Caldwell might prefer Zlotnik to a public defender or a court-appointed lawyer who might not have the same time and resources to devote to his defense.

Legal experts said that to remove Zlotnik from the case would delay court proceedings, at least while the ruling was appealed. The matter could be resolved by asking another lawyer to consult with Caldwell, they said.

“Caldwell should have independent counsel,” said former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Robert Philibosian, “to analyze the potential conflict and advise him whether or not he should have separate counsel.”

Defense attorney Barry Tarlow said there is no proof that Zlotnik is acting unethically.

“You’d have to conclude that the lawyer is a dishonest person who will not protect the client’s own interests, and I have seen no evidence of that,” he said.

Gerald F. Uelmen, a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, said it is common for attorneys for co-defendants, such as Blake and Caldwell, to work together. “The fact that they are conferring with each other doesn’t in itself create a conflict,” he said.

Caldwell, for his part, filed a document Thursday asking the judge to let him keep his lawyer. In the document, he stated, “I genuinely believe that Ms. Zlotnik serves my interests despite her source of fees.”