A federal judge admonished attorney Don Wilkerson yesterday for failing to sufficiently prepare for the Aug. 16 sentencing of his client who was convicted in the 1998 murder of Army helicopter pilot John Russell Latchum Jr. Jose lawyer scolded
for being lax in Latchum
murder trialBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com"It is not my intention to damage your reputation," U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor told Wilkerson. "You've just gotten very lax about all these rules."
But Gillmor stopped short of imposing any sanctions on the lawyer.
Gillmor held a hearing yesterday on whether to impose sanctions against Wilkerson for failing to file a sentencing statement or to file a motion to continue the sentencing and to present the court with an Aug. 13 letter from Bryson Jose, asking for new counsel.
The sentencing scheduled for Aug. 16 has been postponed to Dec. 18, and the judge appointed Barry Edwards as Jose's new lawyer.
With shoulders bent and head slightly lowered, Wilkerson apologized to the court and explained he had not received the letter from Jose, which had been mailed, and had called the court staff regarding his client's decision as soon as he was informed.
"I understood the matter would be taken care of at sentencing," he said.
Wilkerson said he still had not received the letter.
He said he was involved in other matters and had thought he could get a continuance.
Gillmor told Wilkerson he provided an excellent defense for his client during trial and that his failure to follow the rules did not harm Jose.
But the judge pointed out he had a long period of time to file his sentencing statement, and the government had filed its statement May 25.
The judge further admonished him to avoid causing problems like he did at the Aug. 16 sentencing, and said she would not tolerate it in the future.
"The judge was fair," Wilkerson said after the admonition.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Johnson said Wilkerson had not missed any deadlines during the trial, and agreed with the judge's exercise of discretion.