Irving Kanarek
Irving Kanarek (born 1917) is best known for serving as Charles Manson's defense lawyer in the Tate-LaBianca murder trial and as Gregory Powell's attorney in the police-killing incident written about in The Onion Field.
Obstructioninst tactics
According to Tate-LaBianca prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, Kanarek was something of a legend in Los Angeles courts for his dilatory, obstructionist tactics. In his book Helter Skelter, Bugliosi claimed that Kanarek once objected to a witness saying his own name, claiming it was hearsay because he heard it first from his mother.
In the Tate-LaBianca trial, Kanarek objected 9 times during opening statements, despite continuous censure by Judge Charles Older. During a later objection, he called witness Linda Kasabian insane, and by the third day of the trial, he had objected more than 200 times. He was sent to jail twice by Judge Older during the trial for being in contempt of court. In his summation, Bugliosi dubbed Kanarek "the Toscanini of Tedium."
However, Bugliosi also felt Kanarek was the most effective of all the defense attorneys in the Tate-LaBianca trial. Kanarek frequently scored points and kept vital evedience out of the trial. According to Bugliosi, Kanarek fought as if he was on trial instead of the Manson family.
Kanarek also represented Jimmy Smith, the "Onion Field" killer, in an earlier trial. He spent twelve and a half months on pre-trial motions and an additional two months trying to pick a jury. A year and a half after Kanarek had taken the case, the trial hadn't even started nor had a single witness been called. Annoyed at the delay, Smith fired Kanarek.
Careers
Kanarek's first career was as an aerospace engineer working for North American Aviation, where he invented Red Fuming Nitric Acid for the Army's Project Nike. He was eventually fired from North American Aviation after leaving a briefcase full of secret documents at a bar in Los Angeles. It was this firing that prompted him to study law and become an attorney. Although Kanarek had hoped to regain his job in aerospace, he was ultimately unsuccessful. (Source: US Army archives, interview with former co-worker Mary Sherman) [citation needed]
Kanarek attended the University of Washington as an undergraduate and attended Loyola University, Los Angeles School of Law. He was admitted to the California Bar in 1957.
In November 1989, Kanarek was admitted to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for psychiatric treatment. While he was there, a judge found in favor of two of his former clients who sued him for breach of contract, fraud, and malpractice. Later it was revealed that the plaintiff's attorneys had sued Kanarek knowing fully that he would be unable to defend himself in court. After leaving the UCLA Medical Center, Kanarek appealed the judgments against him, won, and was awarded monetary damages. As a result of this decision, it is now forbidden to commence and continue a lawsuit against individuals while they are knowingly incapacitated.
Ultimately disbarred, Kanarek currently lives in southern California, supported by family and friends.