Bundy
Bundy v. United States District Court for District of Nevada
Opinion
Dissenting Opinion
Gould, J.
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent from the court’s denial of the Emergency Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed March 9, 2017. The reasons for my dissent are essentially the same as for my earlier dissent to the majority’s published decision denying the first mandamus petition. 1 See In re Bundy, 840 F.3d 1034, 1049 (9th Cir. 2016) (Gould, J., dissenting). So far as I can discern, Defendant Cliven Bundy’s high-profile political status and prospects for retaining a skilled and aggressive defense team have not substantially changed since my prior dissent. I do not doubt that attorney Bret Whipple is a fine lawyer who has some federal criminal case experience. But the long course of American justice shows that sometimes representation by multiple attorneys is key to a robust defense. 2 And I continue to believe that Bundy’s needs for experienced defense counsel of his choosing are more important than the articulated concerns about Larry Klayman’s ethics, where he has not been disbarred or suspended by another bar association or proven to have engaged in unethical conduct that could justify disbarment. See In re Evans, 524 F.2d 1004, 1007 (5th Cir. 1975); Schlum-berger Techs., Inc.…
Lead Opinion
Attorney Larry Klayman applied to be admitted pro hac vice in the high-profile criminal trial of Cliven Bundy. The district court denied his application without prejudice. Bundy filed an emergency petition with us for a writ of mandamus to force the district court to admit Klayman. We declined to do so in October 2016. See In re Bundy, 840 F.3d 1034 (9th Cir. 2016). We wrote then:
Id. at 1036 . Bundy petitioned for en banc review, but his petition was denied on December 13, 2016. Bundy then petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus, but that petition, too, was denied on February 27, 2017. In re Bundy, No. 16- *948 908, — U.S. -, 137 S.Ct. 1213 , 197 L.Ed.2d 259 , 2017 WL 237570 (2017) (mem.).
Barely a' week later, Bundy, through Klayman, filed the instant emergency petition for a writ of mandamus. Bundy cites to “fundamentally changed circumstances that underscore [his] compelling need to have a full legal defense team, including Klayman, ready and able to represent him at trial.” Emergency Pet. for Writ of Mandamus at 6-7, Mar. 9, 2017, ECF No. 1 [hereinafter Petition]. The petition is procedurally irregular in a number of respects. First, Klayman purports to…