Irving Kanarek
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Irving Kanarek (born 1917) is a retired criminal defense attorney best known for representing Charles Manson and "Onion Field" killer Jimmy Lee Smith.
Education
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 NAA after leaving a briefcase full of secret documents at a bar in Los Angeles. It was this experience that prompted him to study law and become an attorney, although Kanarek had hoped to resume his career in aerospace. (Source: US Army archives, interview with former co-worker Mary Sherman) [citation needed]
Kanarek attended the University of Washington as an undergraduate and Loyola University, Los Angeles School of Law. He was admitted to the California Bar in 1957.[citation needed]
Tactics
According to Tate-LaBianca prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, Kanarek was legendary in Los Angeles courts for his dilatory, obstructionist tactics. In his book Helter Skelter, Bugliosi claimed that Kanarek once objected to a witness' identifying himself; the lawyer claimed it was hearsay because the witness had first heard it from his mother.|Helter Skelter|Bugoliosi|Vincent|with Curt Gentry|1975|Bantan Books|New York, NY| pg 379
In the Tate-LaBianca trial, Kanarek objected nine 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."[citation needed]
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 evidence out of the trial. According to Bugliosi, Kanarek fought as if he personally were on trial.[citation needed]
Kanarek also represented Jimmy Lee Smith in an earlier trial. He spent 12 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. Annoyed at Kanarek for the delay, Smith fired him (ostensibly because the lawyer did not understand representing a black man).[citation needed]
Later life
In November 1989, Kanarek was admitted to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for psychiatric treatment. While Kanarek was there, a judge found in favor of two of his former clients who had sued him for breach of contract, fraud and malpractice. Later it was revealed that the plaintiff's attorneys had sued Kanarek knowing that he would be unable to defend himself in court. After leaving the hospital, Kanarek appealed the judgments against him and was awarded monetary damages. As a result of this decision, it is now forbidden to commence and continue a lawsuit against individuals while knowing they are incapacitated.[citation needed]
Kanarek resigned from the California State Bar in 1990,[1] and currently lives in southern California, supported by family and friends.[citation needed]