A high-profile Fresno defense attorney could face misdemeanor charges of battery and avoiding a security monitoring system after he refused to take off his watch while entering the Madera County courthouse.
Richard Berman, 63, has not been arrested or cited in connection with the incident, which he described as "silly, very, very silly."
The Madera courthouse has a strict policy that requires people to remove belts, watches and other personal items before passing through security. Even defense lawyers -- who have complained in the past that it creates a double standard that could prejudice potential jurors -- must comply.
Madera County sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart confirmed the sequence of events that led to an investigation of Berman:
About 9 a.m. on Sept. 2, a courthouse security guard asked Berman to remove items that could potentially set off the metal detector.
Berman placed some objects in a box for X-ray screening. When he was asked to remove his watch, he refused, citing its monetary value.
"This is a $30,000 watch," Berman reportedly said. "I am not going to take it off."
The guard tried to bar Berman from entering the main hall of the courthouse by blocking his way with one of her arms.
"Take your hands off me," he told the guard. He slipped past her outstretched arm and headed to a courtroom, where he was defending a client on a drunken-driving charge.
A sheriff's deputy later contacted Berman. The deputy described Berman as "uncooperative," refusing to speak about the incident. Berman was not arrested.
Stuart said the Sheriff's Department plans to ask District Attorney Michael Keitz to file a complaint against Berman for battery and avoiding courthouse security. Stuart said a copy of the report was hand delivered to the District Attorney's Office on Thursday morning.
Stuart also said that sheriff's officials have sent a copy of the investigative report to the California State Bar in San Francisco.
Berman, a former chief deputy in the Fresno County District Attorney's Office, has no record of discipline, according to the State Bar's Web site. He has been practicing law since 1973. In 2008, Berman was named one of the Top 100 trial lawyers in California by The American Trial Lawyers Association.
He currently is defending former Madera County Supervisor Harry Baker, who faces a criminal charge of committing a lewd act with a 13-year-old.
Defense attorneys have long complained that the Madera courthouse policy is unfair because prosecutors are exempt.
Because the District Attorney's Office is in the same building, prosecutors can go through a back door and avoid the screening process.
"When they field strip us, it has the potential to prejudice jurors," Fresno defense attorney Eric Schweitzer said Wednesday.
Stuart said that she goes through the courthouse security checkpoint just like everyone else. "Anybody walking through those doors, regardless of professional standing, has to put personal items in a box for screening, just as you would do at an airport."
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