The Legal Reader

Cotati resident even gets hit in the face by his own attorney

A defendant in a Sonoma County courtroom got rough justice Wednesday when he was punched in the face by his own attorney and shocked twice with a Taser stun gun after he tried to wrestle a court bailiff's gun from its holster.

Cotati resident Martin E. Hirtz, 44, was in Superior Court Judge Lawrence Antolini's court at about 9 a.m. on a probation violation charge related to a previous conviction for assaulting a peace officer when the chaos began. Hirtz made a move for the gun as he was being taken from the courtroom into custody, according to a statement by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

Hirtz lunged at bailiff Eric Greenband's holster, grabbed hold tightly and tried to pull out the weapon by jerking it back and forth and pushing Greenband backward against a short court partition, sheriffs said. Hirtz unsnapped the holster and partially removed the gun as another deputy sheriff joined the fray and called for backup.

Seeing that the officers could not subdue Hirtz, his own defense attorney, the prosecutor and the probation officer on duty jumped into the melee to try to control the defendant. Despite several blows from Deputy Public Defender Jeff Mitchell and baton strikes to the head and arms by Deputy Sheriff Will Conner, Hirtz would not relent.

It was not until another deputy sheriff shot Hirtz with a Taser probe and shocked him that he began to give in. After a second shock, deputies finally subdued Hirtz and hauled him away.

I can't tell you how glad I am that I don't practice criminal law. Details here from the San Francisco Chronicle.