Long Days Are Part of a High Profile Practice By JACQUELINE FOX Staff Reporter The year was 1985. James E. Blatt had roughly a decade of experience as a criminal defense attorney under his belt. But the Valley lawyer had yet to take on a particularly high-profile case. There had been few appearances on the courthouse steps before TV news crews and the editors at People magazine had never even heard of him. Then came Etta Smith, a Burbank woman and shipping clerk at Lockheed Martin. Smith claimed to have had a “psychic vision” of the body of a Sylmar nurse who had been missing for a couple of days. She told police about the vision and ultimately led them to the woman’s body in a rural clearing north of Lake View Terrace. After 13 hours of relentless questioning, police arrested Smith on suspicion of murdering the woman. She spent four days in jail before three men would be arrested and charged with the crime. Enter James Blatt. With his help, Smith sued the city of Los Angeles for unlawful arrest. He would successfully argue her case in Van Nuys Superior Court, convincing a jury to award Smith nearly $30,000 in damages. “A lot of your career as a criminal defense attorney is decided by sheer accident,” Blatt said. “I thought it was a fascinating case, and I also thought, plain and simple, that she should have her day in court.” By 1987 Blatt was getting calls from producers interested in making a film based on Smith’s story, which made national headlines and, yes, the pages of People. “I suppose that case was the first truly high-profile case for me,” said Blatt, a raspy-voiced, fast talker in a crisp blue shirt and silk tie. The 53-year-old Punxsutawney, Pa. native practices law from his penthouse suite atop an Encino high-rise, complete with a panoramic view, glossy hardwood floors, fluffy Persian rugs and a wall loaded down with awards, photos and news clippings depicting courtroom victories. Blatt clerked at the district attorney’s office while attending law school. He got his degree in 1973, passed the bar at the age of 24 and worked briefly as a deputy district attorney before setting up his own Valley private practice in 1975. Today there are few involved with the criminal justice system who would not recognize Blatt’s name. He is as famous for taking on unusual and often difficult cases as he is for pioneering innovative and often risky lines of defense. His arguments have set new standards for criminal attorneys and, in at least one case, resulted in a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. For example, Blatt pioneered the “defense of a neighborhood” when he convinced a jury to reject assault charges against his client, a Pacoima man who shot in the back a woman he believed to be a habitual drug dealer operating outside his house. “The man had had enough,” said Blatt. “Why shouldn’t he have had the right to defend his home and his neighborhood?” Blatt’s client claimed he was merely firing a warning shot. He was acquitted. “I don’t know precisely what he does, but generally any big criminal case in the Valley, he’s there. How he gets them, I don’t know,” said Jim Felton, a business attorney at the law firm of Greenberg & Bass in Encino. “As a successful lawyer you have to think outside the box and the boundaries. And Jim’s ability to sway a jury with these new and innovative defenses shows that he’s willing to take on new areas and challenges.” There’s also the “cultural defense” in which Blatt argued his client, a Woodland Hills man who admitted to bludgeoning his wife to death with a wrench, did so because she abused him physically and emotionally throughout most of their 25-year marriage. Blatt argued that his client had no choice but to kill his wife after humiliating him in the eyes of his children and his male-dominated Persian Jewish culture. Rejecting second-degree murder, the jury convicted the man of involuntary manslaughter. “That line of defense had never been used before,” said Blatt. “It was very important. I like to get creative when I come up with a defense. I like a challenge and I work very hard on that.” Within the profession, Blatt is perhaps best known for his 1998 victory in a case he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. His client, a Tarzana resident about to board a plane to his native Syria, was arrested at LAX when security officers found $357,144 in cash hidden inside his suitcase. Federal law requires passengers transporting cash out of the country to report amounts over $10,000, something he had failed to do. Blatt’s client pleaded guilty to the smuggling charge, but said he had hidden the cash because he was afraid corrupt Syrian officials would confiscate it once he landed. American officials seized the money and kept it for four years before Blatt was able to convince the high court in a 5-4 decision to return it. “What they said was that my client’s crime did not match the punishment,” said Blatt. The ruling is expected to have a significant impact on future forfeiture cases. “For the first time in our history we asked the court to determine what was an excessive fine,” said Blatt. “That issue had never been addressed before.” Nevertheless, if you think the life of a high-paid, well-dressed criminal defense attorney is all glitz and glamour, think again. Blatt’s day begins around 5 a.m. By 7 a.m. he’s usually seated at a Valley restaurant having breakfast with his four associates, going over the day’s list of court appearances. By 8:30 a.m., he’s often in court. In an average week, he’ll make between 15 and 20 appearances on behalf of clients. Afternoons are spent tying up loose ends, returning the 40 or so “while you were out” messages stacked on his desk, and preparing for the next morning’s court appearances. He’s usually in the office until 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. weeknights and puts in at least five or six more hours each weekend. Blatt won’t discuss his income or his fees. He would only say “they are substantial.” He points out that, in his line of work, what’s at stake is usually hard to put a price tag on. “A criminal defense lawyer deals with the most precious possessions their clients have: their liberty or their lives,” said Blatt. “One always feels very disappointed when they lose a murder case because of the significant amount of time the defendant goes to jail. I’ve had a few of those.” Calling himself a product of childhood poverty, Blatt admits sometimes his good fortune can be overwhelming. “What keeps me awake at night?” Blatt asks rhetorically. “I recently visited my hometown and things haven’t changed much. I know what it’s like to have to work hard and I just consider myself very, very fortunate to have a nice job, nice clothes, a nice lifestyle and the opportunity to fulfill my dream. I stay awake thinking about that.”
