The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 28

TV RADIO The Kansas City Star Thursday February 8 1990 Page 2D case raises questions in the real world By Donna Kato 1 9ftdios Angeles Daily News Los They know the whereabouts of a missing boy and the identity of the hit-and-run driver who killed him': Bui as attorneys they cannot reveal not to the pleading grieving parents who are not even sure their son is dead or to ttfe deputy district attorney who -issues a warrant for the arrestof one of them Ttffi scenario which focused on ffie issue of attorney-client privilege of confidentiality was a segment of the Jan 25 episode of A (9 pm Thursdays on 4) In the days since it was shown the nioral and ethical dilemmas it presented have been discussed by faithful viewers as well as law students and lawyer? was the topic of hall said Erwin Chemer-insky'a professor of law at the University of Southern California who explained that the privilege forbids attorneys from revealing the contents of conversation with clients It is an important and crucial legal power because it protects clients so they can openly speak to QPr attorneys without fear thatwhat they say will be di-vulftB without their permission he MH the first human reaqtjjpn is wanting to alleviate the pain of the grieving said the professor a specialist on ethics and professional responsibility segment was almost a classic example of attorney-client privilege and probably brought forth a greater awareness of it But no matter how much- the predicament pulls at heart the viewer should understand that the attorney would not have learned what he dMwithout the attorney-client privilege of 2s particular episode has more discussion among professionals than any other episode) in recent said Gregory A Wed-ner a partner in the Westwood Calif firm of Bergman Wed-ner Ibc touched upon one of the foundations of the American "He Rollins have gone to the scene The observations he made there were not part of attorney-client privilege he became a witness at that he said be caught up in the emotion of it like they were they completely lost rational "An initial effort should have been made to convince the client to check the body on his Wedner said touching and moving the at the very least he behaved Furthermore lawyers say Rollins broke the confidentiality code entrusted to him by the driverclient when he sought the advice of the deputy district attorney important to remember this is television and entertainment but the reality is that what those two lawyers did could have gotten them disbarred" Catalano said "By going to (Grace) Van Owen a prosecutor it put her in an impossible In fact the only lawyer who acted correctly in opinion was Van Owen "She put the friendship aside and acted in the best interest of the people" he Baid But David Krakoff a Washington DC criminal defense lawyer disagrees "By going to Grace (Van Owen) as a friend he (Rollins) ran a said Krakoff a former prosecutor for the US attorney office criminal justice system works because rules breached She looked at the situation as a crime reported to her and used the information as an officer of the Wedner thinks Rollins might have avoided the arrest if he had presented his hypothetical story without the specifics that led Van Owen to be convinced he was talking about the missing boy "When the conversation took that turn the DA felt she was duty-bound to conduct an he said According to the legal experts the television case closely parallels a West Palm Beach incident in which an attorney protected the identity of a driver who hit and killed a 28-year-old electrician in 1986 NBC media relations spokesman Brian Robinette said the stories usually were based on a compilation of actual cases The executive producers of the show are lawyers The episode will be concluded tonight Robinette said "There was a way around the mess they created without breaching the attorney-client confidentiality: (Rollins or Moses) could have made an anonymous call to the said Catalano the Santa Monica lawyer the time the driver came in the attorneys even sure the kid was dead They needed to take some step to see if the child needed help and to protect their client at the same time The call would have accomplished that and getting the son back to the legal Ho lowever lawyers say the conduct 75f the television characters in several scenes had them cringing otftheir sofas was a tough (episode) to dissect and legally there were said Paul Catalano a Santa Monica Calif criminal defense attorney who also watched the Jan 25 show was pure stupidity the way the lawyer Diana Moses portrayed by Renee Jones responded when the driver came Instead of going to Jonathan Rollins a novice she should have referred the driver to Michael Kuzak or Victor Sifuentes the firm known criminal-law ex-pertssaid Catalano a partner in the firm of Chaleff English Catalano A series of bad decisions followed he said continued from pg ID surveyors asked Seventy-nine percept answered the report says is an affirmation of our ability to health perhaps the development of chronic illness and the realization of The going can be rough but do people want to die in middle age? Not on your life you ever wish to die before you get too the parents respondents are evenly split about whether the children of aged parents should be financially responsible for their care until they die The worst aspect of midlife the respondents agree is change in physical condition and poor Nashville bank assumes Channel 62 ownership THE TAPES THE Din DOCTOR TRIED TO STOP! replaced or asked to continue The license transfer was expected he said but not as quickly as it occurred Marinoff told employees of Channel 62 about the change in ownership at a hastily called staff meeting Wednesday afternoon Neil Cunningham executive vice president at First American National Bank said there had been no decision as to whether Channel 62 would be sold or placed under the operation of television management company One management company frequently named as a possible station operator is Act III Broadcasting in Atlanta Bert Ellis president of Act HI said he expected to speak with bank officials today standing by ready willing and Ellis said in a phone interview Wednesday By ffrrry Garron Th Stars TV-radio critic A -Nashville bank has become Uhe new owner and opera-1 tor of KZKC Channel 62 Th Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday transferred the license for the station from Media Central which has been in bankruptcy to First American National Bank of Nashville Technically the company dthat now owns the station is KEKC-TV Inc a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank Media Central filed for bankruptcy in July 1987 but continued to operate Channel 62 Efforts by creditors to get the license for the station transferred were held up by lengthy legal proceedings and a Media Central appeal Stan Marinoff who took over as general manager of the station eight days ago said he did net know whether he would be of a gradual awakening to says John Pollock New World research director not so much money and worldly goods as the bounty of friendship family closeness and the desire to make a contribution to society or some of what life has given to the middle-aged person The best aspect of midlife the survey indicates is control independence security the accumulation of life experience and the ability to see the big In a word maturity majorities of between 79 percent and 89 agree that middle life is associated with a search for meaning intimacy (caring and endearment) and purposeful the report says Middle-aged people say they expect to: Become closer to spouse children or friends Assist an adult child with financial needs Enjoy an active and fulfilling sex life Participate regularly in religious activities Care for a frail parent The second and last items put some strain on the pocketbooks of the middle-aged and on the study to find a consensus More than 70 percent in the survey (80 percent of those younger than 46) agreed that "children have an obligation to care for their aged parents until the parents However a difference of opinion about what means paradox is immediately apparent" the report says "Although 7 in 10 Americans say that children have a moral obligation to care for aged EDITION Rooney allegedly made racial slurs ssssss (0) 6:30 pm KMBCTV WEEKDAYS By The Associated Press ew York -CBS called TV Ikl humorist Andy Rooney on carpet today to explain racist remarks attributed t0 in a gay magazine Rooney denied making the eomJMents contained in an article ia The Advocate He has drawn crittotom from homosexual and lesBHrb groups for remarks about gexuals he made in a De- TV special magazine quoted Rooney as saying that "most people are bom with equal intelligence but blacks have watered down their genes because the less intelligent ones are the ones that have the most CBS spokesman Roy Brunett said today: very concerned Andy Rooney denies saying this and planning to talk to him wouldn't be surprised if I got Rooney told The New York Daily News But he said he make the remarks i I.