Criminal defense attorneys Andy Simrin and W. Keith Goody have been accused of contempt in Marion County for over-zealous advocacy of a death row inmate. Marion County Circuit Court Judge Jamese Rhodes entered an order removing Mr. Simrin and Mr. Goody as counsel for convicted murderer Gary Haugen, and, when Mr. Simrin and Mr. Goody filed a petition in the Oregon Supreme Court arguing that the order was invalid, they were charged with contempt.
For those of you who haven’t been following the Gary Haugen saga, here it is in a nutshell; he has been sentenced to death. He wants for sentence to be carried out, and so he has attempted to fire his court-appointed defense lawyers who were trying to prevent it. Governor Kitzhaber has ordered that no executions take place during his tenure as governor, (technically, Gov. Kitzhaber gave a reprieve to Mr. Haugen and every other death row inmate) and Mr. Haugen brought a legal action against Governor Kitzhaber, complaining that he can’t be given a reprieve over his objection.
Mr. Haugen’s court-appointed attorneys are Mr. Simrin and Mr. Goody. I know Mr. Simrin pretty well; I worked with him at the state public defender’s office several years ago, and we still consult on cases. Mr. Simrin and Mr. Goody have argued that Mr. Haugen is mentally ill and cannot fire them.
Whether Mr. Haugen is legally competent to fire his attorneys is a hard question, both factually (is he mentally ill?) and legally (how mentally ill can you be and still be able to make your own choices about your life?). Whether he can decline the reprieve and insist on being executed is another hard question. Judge Guimond may well be right in ruling that Mr. Haugen is competent, able to make his own choices, and able to refuse a reprieve. But it is improper for Judge Guimond to order Mr. Simrin and Mr. Goody not to take the case to a higher court. They have been accused of contempt, which is essentially a crime; they could be put in jail, or, more likely, fined, and they have had to hire counsel. And a criminal defense attorney, especially a death-penalty defense attorney, is affirmatively required to be zealous, creative, and tenacious in defending a client. Mr. Simrin and Mr. Goody should be praised, not punished.
UPDATE: The Oregon Supreme Court has issued a stay, keeping Mr. Simrin and Mr. Goody out of jail until the Supreme Court decides whether to order the trial court to dismiss the contempt proceedings.
