VERO BEACH — Wrapping up five weeks of testimony into a succinct and convincing argument will be the challenge for prosecutors when court resumes at 9 a.m. in the trial of disbarred attorney Ira Hatch on 45 felony charges.
Jurors have heard testimony from 149 witnesses for the state and four for the defense. Combined, both sides have entered more than 500 exhibits into evidence. The trial is now beginning its sixth week and Wednesday will be the 25th day in session. The jury has been in recess for two days of the 25 to deal with legal arguments outside their presence.
Senior Judge James Midelis has allotted the state a total of three hours for a closing statement and for rebuttal of the defense’s closing statement. The defense also gets three hours to try to leave the jury with reasonable doubt which would prevent them from convicting Hatch.
“The state gets to start and finish this,” said Judge Midelis on Friday.
Assistant State Attorney Ryan Butler, who is legal advisor to the entire staff of State Attorney Bruce Colton’s office, is expected to present the closing argument for the state.
Defense Attorney Gregory Eisenmenger, who has represented Hatch pro bono since September 2007 when Coastal Escrow Services Inc. shut its doors leaving nearly 800 depositors searching for funds, will speak for the defense.
Eisenmenger has said he does not expect to take the whole three hours for his close, but that is approximately the time he took for opening statements.
Hatch was arrested on Jan. 11, 2008, after a six-month investigation by the Vero Beach Police Department, the State Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Declared indigent by the court and unable to post a bond for the $3 million bail set for him, Hatch has been incarcerated at the Indian River County Jail since his arrest.
The investigation was prompted by complaints from depositors after Hatch closed his firm, Coastal Escrow Services on Sept. 4, 2007 and sent Realtors and clients a fax saying that he would not immediately be able to pay back the money they had entrusted to him in escrow. After the criminal trial concludes, Hatch and his ex-wife Marjorie will face multiple civil lawsuits for recovery of funds lost. Those suits have been on hold so that Hatch would not have to possibly incriminate himself by being deposed in a civil matter.
In August 2007 the Florida Bar also investigated Hatch for 10 days in response to a complaint by Louis B. “Buck” Vocelle, attorney for Hatch’s former law partner Kevin Doty.
In September 2007 Hatch consented to a 10-year voluntary disbarment in response to charges of misallocating funds in his law firm trust account, about $152,000 in insurance settlement funds that were due to one of Doty’s clients.
During the trial, discussion of Hatch’s disbarment revealed that, by signing the Florida Bar documents, Hatch admitted to the charges filed by the Bar. Eisenmenger also admitted that, by knowingly allowing Hatch to sign the documents, he may have committed an act of malpractice.
In the 34 months the attorneys have been battling each other, tempers have flared over sticky legal issues, but at the end of the day — and out of the presence of the jury — they have felt comfortable enough to poke at each other with humor from time to time.
In a statement to Judge Midelis about the time alottment, Butler revealed the very subtle but friendly power struggle which may exist between the co-counsel for the state.
“I’m fine with the three hours, Judge, as long as that leaves 15 minutes for Mr. Evans’ rebuttal, I’m good with that,” Butler said.
Taking up the court’s time has been a running theme in this case, with Judge Midelis constantly trying to move the trial along and to keep the attorneys — mostly Eisenmenger — on track and on topic.
A former prosecutor of capital and major crimes for 15 years and a former county judge, Midelis was brought out of retirement to handle the case after Judge Robert Hawley suddenly recused himself in May due to an attitude of bias toward the defense.
Had Midelis not taken the case, no other local judge would have had the several weeks of court time available on his docket to handle a trial of this magnitude. The initial estimate for the length of the trial was three months, as that is what jurors were told at the beginning. Approximately 200 jurors were interviewed to come up with the six jurors and four alternates that have sat on this trial.
After the attorneys are finished with their statements, the case will go to the jury. The requirement to read a 90-page jury information aloud by Judge Midelis before the jury can be sent to deliberate may cause this to be pushed off until Thursday morning to avoid the necessity to sequester the jury overnight, should that become an issue for the defense.
The trial takes place in Courtroom 1 on the second floor of the Indian River County Courthouse. The proceedings are open to the public.
