I sat in Superior Court today and witnessed the Marion
"Suge" Knight hearing as it unfolded. There were many journalists
there who are unaware of the historic ties into the fabric of Los Angeles that
Knight and David Kenner possess. The history of Suge and Kenner is the history
of Death Row Records. The history of Death Row Records is the history of Los
Angeles. They are all intertwined.
Now Suge Knight is being held in the murder of Terry Carter
and attempted murder of Cle "Bone Sloan during an argument that broke out
on the Set of "Straight Outta Compton" and continued at a hamburger
restaurant parking lot near the set. Suge Night has pleaded "Not
Guilty" to the charges.
Sitting in the hall was the beginning of my observations
today. Kenner arrived and requested to meet with his client. He was granted
entry into the courtroom early and was able to see Marion Suge Knight ahead of
time in one of the adjoining conference rooms. We were brought in and seated in
the journalist section of the courtroom. There were approximately 20
journalists there to witness and write about the hearing. Deputy District
Attorney Cynthia Barnes represented the District Attorney’s Office. While we
were waiting for the hearing to begin there was a meeting of Miss Barnes and
David Kenner in one of the adjoining conference rooms. This meeting lasted for
about 20 minutes. It is unknown what was discussed in this meeting.
There were a number of motions heard and ruled on by the
court today. The bail hearing was continued to March 20th. Most of the motions
seemed to be procedural but the one that was surprising to me was a motion to
allow Mr. Knight's personal physician to visit him. Here the judge ruled
against Mr. Knight citing that the County and Sheriff's Department had
competent personnel to examine Mr. Knight - the judge denied access by Knight
to his personal physician.
By March 20th most of the discovery should be complete and
the clear picture of this case should be upon us.
But let's take a look at attorney David Kenner who is a legend
in the criminal defense business. Kenner was Tupac Shakur's attorney for over a
year. He also represented Snoop Dogg during Snoop's trial for murder. Kenner
also represented Michael "Harry-O" Harris, Suge Knight, and Barry
Minkow.
Kenner was at the beginning of Death Row Records. He
brokered the deal to fund the original investment for the record label from
Michael "Harry-O" Harris. He was part of the appeal to musicians with
legal problems to sign with Death Row. Kenner represented Suge for his assault
of George and Lynwood Stanely. Kenner successfully kept the case from going to
trial and he negotiated a plea deal that put Suge on Probation instead of doing
time in prison. Kenner was listed originally as Suge's legal counsel on his
probation violation in 1996 after the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Sometime
in 1997 citing health reasons Kenner was removed from the case. Kenner and Suge
have been reunited during this current trial.
What can we expect? My take is that this case will never go
to trial - especially with David Kenner as Suge Knight's attorney. During
today's hearing Miss Barnes stated that she felt the trial would only last 2
weeks. The evidence is pretty cut and dried. The prosecution is asking for 25
years to life in prison, if there was a plea arrangement reached where Suge
agreed to 10 years in prison and actually served 5 there would be a deal
struck. There is way too much sediment to stir up with so many ties into the
history of Los Angeles. Neither side wants to stir up the past.
Michael Douglas Carlin is the author of Tupac:187 about the
murders of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace. He is also the director of the
movies Luvicide and American Federale. Recently he
completed a ten-year stint as the Publisher and Editor of the Century
City News. Here his articles turned into three books: Rise
a Knight, A Prescription for Peace, and Peaceful
Protests. Carlin's family founded lighting and grip company Keylite PSI
that supplied equipment on Ordinary People, The
Untouchables, Boyz In The Hood, Platoon,
JFK,
Reservoir
Dogs, and hundreds of other feature films and thousands of hours of
television. For many years Carlin ran the family business and managed
independent studios. He worked also in the entertainment industry as an actor,
lighting technician, grip, cameraman, production manager, producer, and
director. Carlin also published The Entertainment Funding Sourcebook, The
Studio White Pages, and Media and Entertainment Institutional
Investors.
Follow Michael Douglas Carlin on Twitter @MichaelDCarlin
