Updated at 11:34 a.m., Thursday, August 23, 2007
Judge scolds 'Dog' Chapman's attorney for bail mix-up
Advertiser Staff
A local attorney representing Duane "Dog" Chapman received a tongue-lashing by a federal magistrate because Chapman and his wife Beth had urged fans to address protests to the court.After a court in Mexico earlier this month dropped charges against Chapman, Tim Chapman and son Leland Chapman, in connection with the bounty hunter's capture of Andrew Luster, Chapman and his wife issued a statement that they were devastated by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren's decision to keep the $300,000 bond in place.
They asked fans to call and write to the judge, the prosecuting attorney, the president and Condoleezza Rice.
The problem was that in a closed-door meeting last week, all parties agreed that the prosecutor could have an extra 30 days to consider what to do in light of an appeal filed by Mexican officials. In the meantime, the Chapmans would be free on their own recognizance and the bail would be released.
"When I left the conference on Aug. 15, I thought we were all on the same page," Kurren said.
However, Kurren said he found himself bombarded by e-mails and phone calls by the bounty hunter's fans.
"This is where I have some confusion and unhappiness," he said. "Tell your clients not to contact the court or suggest their fans contact the court," he told Chapman's attorney Brook Hart.
Hart said the confusion arose because the bail bondsman needed written confirmation from the court that the bail bond did not need to be renewed. Now that it has been settled, Chapman has "less reason for any kind of behavior like that," he said.
