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LAPD corruption lawyer files a motion for new trial

'We were doomed from the beginning'

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The lawyer for convicted Los Angeles Police Sgt. Edward Ortiz, found guilty of conspiracy in the Rampart scandal, has filed a 21-page motion for a new trial.

In the motion, filed on Monday, attorney Barry Levin alleges improper conduct on the part of the prosecution and jurors, and claims jurors were tainted because of the widespread publicity surrounding the corruption scandal.

WEB EXCLUSIVE On the scene in LAPD corruption trial  CASE FILE LAPD Scandal  ALSO FindLaw Forum: LAPD scandal a stark example of the failure of police reform Judge rules testimony concerning alleged Perez murders is irrelevant (Oct. 20)

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"We lost this case because the jury speculated as to what the evidence was," Levin said. "What they listened to, I believe -- reports of corruption, perpetrated from long before this trial began -- and we were doomed from the beginning."

Ortiz was found guilty November 15 of conspiracy to obstruct justice, along with Sgt. Brian Liddy and Officer Michael Buchanan, in the first trial stemming from a probe into widespread corruption in the Rampart Division's anti-gang unit. A fourth officer charged in the scandal, Paul Harper, was cleared of all charges.

Ortiz and Liddy were also found guilty of filing a false police report during the arrest of two gang members in July 1996. Buchanan was found guilty of two counts of perjury in that incident.

The maximum prison term for Buchanan is eight years on perjury charges. Ortiz and Liddy face a maximum of three years on false arrest convictions.

Sentencing set for January

The maximum sentence for conspiracy is three years for each officer convicted.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 16.

Prosecutors based their case against the four officers primarily on interviews with former officer-turned-informant Rafael Perez, who is serving a reduced jail sentence as part of a plea agreement for stealing cocaine from a police evidence locker.

Perez, who did not testify because of concerns about his credibility, claimed the officers routinely planted evidence, fabricated arrest reports and shot unarmed civilians during gang raids west of downtown Los Angeles.

He served with the officers in the LAPD's now-disbanded anti-gang unit, known as CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums).

Part of Perez's plea agreement included limited immunity for all crimes, except murder.

Since the probe was launched in September 1999, 70 officers have been investigated and more than 100 convictions have been overturned.

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November 7, 2000
LAPD sergeant denies wrongdoing in corruption case
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November 3, 2000
Prosecution rests in LAPD corruption trial
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LAPD officers testify they didn't see gang member with gun
October 26, 2000
Testimony in LAPD corruption trial centers on alleged gun planting
October 25, 2000
Indictments issued for two former LAPD officers
October 23, 2000
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October 23, 2000
Judge rules testimony concerning alleged Perez murders is irrelevant
October 20, 2000

Department of Justice proposed consent decree
City of Los Angeles notes on proposed plan
Independent Analysis of the Los Angeles Police Department's Board of Inquiry Report on the Rampart Scandal

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