Public defender will represent Karr
Judge makes clear that Boulder office in charge of case
Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain News
Published August 28, 2006 at midnight
When John Mark Karr appears in court this afternoon on charges he killed JonBenet Ramsey, he will be represented by Seth Temin, head of the Boulder public defender's office.
A team of two California lawyers and a Lafayette lawyer with only 10 months of experience who insisted late last week that Karr had retained them have apparently fallen by the wayside.
"I think that the judge's position accepting (the public defender's office) as the attorneys of record resolves that question," Boulder County District Attorney spokeswoman Carolyn French said.
District Court Judge Roxanne Bailin on Friday ordered that anyone, including "any private person, professional or not," must go through Temin's office before contacting Karr for any purpose.
The unusual phrase "professional or not" was seen by some legal experts as a direct jab at San Jose, Calif., lawyers Jamie Harmon and Patience Van Zandt, who said they would team with legal newcomer Rachel Cohen, of Lafayette, to represent Karr.
Van Zandt represented Karr in a 2001 child pornography case. Harmon flew to Colorado on Friday and tried to visit Karr at the Boulder County Jail but was turned away, NBC News reported.
Harmon and Van Zandt did not return cell phone messages on Sunday. Cohen declined an interview request and continued to refer reporters to a statement she posted on her Web site Saturday.
"I have not represented him and will not be representing him," it read.
The statement went on to praise "what may well be the best public defender system in the United States," in reference to Colorado.
In addition to Temin, his predecessor, Steve Jacobson, was also named as an attorney for Karr, CBS 4 News reported.
Jacobson served more than 20 years as a public defender but retired in May to work in private practice in Boulder. He's a national DNA expert.
At today's hearing, Karr will be advised he is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder, felony murder, kidnapping and sexual assault.
bargec@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5059
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