Lawyer appears in Thomas Jefferson garb to defend law license, unusual capital murder defense
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A lawyer wearing a Thomas Jefferson getup appeared before the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday in a quest to retain his law license.
Lawyer Ira Dennis Hawver wore a powdered wig, 18th century suit and long white stockings as he argued that the First Amendment protected his unusual defense of a capital murder client, the Topeka Capital-Journal reports.
Hawver didn’t pursue a potential alibi defense based on cellphone records for his client, Phillip Cheatham Jr., who was convicted in the slayings of two women and the wounding of a third, disciplinary officials say. Instead he argued his client, a professional drug dealer, wouldn’t have left the third woman alive to identify him and wouldn’t have needed to fire so many shots to kill the other two women.
Hawver has said he was following his client’s strategy when he made the argument.
Referring to ABA guidelines for lawyers defending death penalty cases, Hawver told the court he might not have jumped through every “American Bar Association hoop” but his client didn’t complain.
The Kansas Supreme Court cited ineffective assistance of counsel when it overturned Cheatham’s convictions in January 2013.
Hawver said he dressed as Thomas Jefferson because constitutional rights were at stake, the Capital-Journal says. He said the Sixth Amendment protects the rights of his client, and the First Amendment protects his right to defend his client as he sees fit.
Hawver previously wore the Thomas Jefferson costume at campaign appearances when he was running for governor as a Libertarian.
Hat tip to How Appealing.
