For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 41

her boyfriend. The pages are then cut up into small squares and
sold to other inmates who smoke them. The soaked paper looks the
same as unsoaked paper.
It is common for lawyers to bring papers to their incarcerated
clients. And, usually, the legal papers are just legal papers. The
question, then, becomes not whether the attorney brought in the
papers, but whether he knew that they were drug-soaked papers.
In the case involving " A " , the police chose not to ever question
inmate " A " . Had they done so, " A " would have told them what
he told me-that Gettleman had no knowledge of this and that he
( " A " ) was very sorry for doing this to Gettleman who had always
represented him well in the past. And, because several of " A's "
people on the outside were also charged, " A's " jail calls to his people
were used by the Commonwealth to implicate the others. But in
doing so, the calls exculpated Gettleman. But of course, this meant
nothing to the Commonwealth as they forged ahead.
In one call, for example, " A " said to his girlfriend, " tell Gettleman
you're my aunt so it sounds better. " In another call, he tells her to
make sure she puts a certain case relevant to his charges on top of
the pile, so it looks legit. And, in yet another call, he tells her that if
Gettleman asks, she should give him a false name so if he is caught,
he wouldn't know her real name. Why say these things to Gettleman
if he is in on it? Suffice it to say, the charges in the first incident were
absurd and they were properly dismissed at the preliminary hearing.
The second set of charges, involving " B " , and which arose one
year later, were held for court. From a trial attorney's perspective,
those charges were even more laughable. " B " was a man with a
long record of drugs, guns, and violence. He was in jail on a parole
detainer, awaiting trial on a firearm charge and 18 counts of
aggravated assault arising out of an incident where he opened fire
at a picnic full of people because he had a spat with one of the
attendees.
" B's " girlfriend called Gettleman the day before " A's " trial,
informing Gettleman that her boyfriend, " B " , wanted to hire
Gettleman because he didn't trust his court appointed attorney.
Gettleman informed the girlfriend what his fee would be, what
he wanted up front, and that if the Judge did not seem inclined to
postpone the case, he would refund most of the retainer. The next
day Gettleman entered his appearance and worked out a very good
plea deal.
Shortly before " B " was to be shipped out, his girlfriend called
Gettleman again, telling him that " B " was considering filing a
motion to withdraw his plea. She begged Gettleman to see him
one last time. When she met Gettleman at the jail, she had a copy
of " B's " docket sheets which she asked Gettleman to take to " B " .
She claimed he needed all the dates, etc. to file a timely motion to
withdraw his plea. Gettleman brought " B " these papers, had a brief
conversation with him, and never had any contact with " B " again.
Vol. 8, Issue 4 l For The Defense 41
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4

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