Mitchell v. Hanlon CA1/1

I. BACKGROUND

A. Allegations of the Complaint Mitchell filed a complaint, in propria persona alleging he retained Hanlon to represent him in a criminal case for a retainer of $85,000, in addition to $35,000 to be placed in a trust account to cover expert expenses. He further alleged, to defend the murder charge, Hanlon raised a provocation defense undermining the primary defense of mistaken identity they discussed prior to trial. According to the complaint, Hanlon instructed Mitchell to “lie on the witness stand” regarding past incidents of domestic violence between him and the victim as well as about his past drug and alcohol use. Hanlon also “tricked” Mitchell into “providing false testimony” regarding the volatile relationship between him and the victim as evidence of provocation. Mitchell also maintained Hanlon was not “looking out” for his personal interests in shares of stock in “Cinema 7 Inc. (Mitchell Bros. O’Farrell Theatre),” putting his siblings’ financial interests ahead of his. Although the complaint alleged Mitchell was innocent and “ ‘wrongfully’ convicted at a very tragic murder trial,” he failed to allege he had sought or obtained any form of postconviction…