The great defender

Deepa Bharath

John Barnett was drawn to Eric Bechler’s case like an ‘80s puzzle

enthusiast to a Rubik’s cube.

For the ace defense lawyer, peeling away the layers of a complex case

is like piecing together a puzzle. It’s what he enjoys most about his

job.

Barnett, 52, is representing Bechler, who stands accused of killing

his wife, Pegye, during a boating trip three years ago. The trial resumes

today after a two-week break.

What makes the case interesting and intriguing? The body of

38-year-old Pegye Bechler was never found.

Barnett is best known for defending Los Angeles Police Officer

Theodore Briseno, who was acquitted in the 1992 state trial of the police

beating of Rodney King. Barnett also won acclaim for successfully

defending former Marine Thomas Merrill, who was accused of a double

slaying in a 1989 robbery at a Newport Beach coin shop, incarcerated for

five years and then freed in 1995 when a jury acquitted him.

But for the first time in 21 years, the man known to be Orange

County’s winningest defense attorney said, he is handling a case without

a body.

“Such cases are rare,” he said. “The sort of personalities involved in

this case are unusual. Many murder cases involve criminals, gang members

or robbers.”

In contrast, the Bechlers lived in glitzy Newport Beach, played

volleyball and raised three children.

“It can by no means be called a criminal setting,” said Barnett.

Bechler, 33, was arrested in October 1999 after he told former

girlfriend Tina New during a secretly recorded conversation about killing

his wife. Barnett’s defense so far has been that Bechler lied to New to

convince her he was a “bad boy.”

Barnett has not only argued that New fantasized about romance with

dangerous men, but in a line of careful questioning to the key

prosecution witness, he worked to undermined her credibility in the eyes

of the jurors, including grilling her about whether New believed she was

psychic.

His strategy has won the admiration of colleague. Orange County public

defender Denise Gragg said Barnett defends his clients with a combination

of “great intelligence and professional demeanor.”

“He combines a brilliant legal mind with a great personality,” she

said.

Barnett’s not the kind to tear down prosecution witnesses

aggressively. Rather, he take the tack of cornering them with deceptively

mild-mannered questioning and meticulous preparation.

“It’s almost like he treats them with respect,” said Jin Chung, a

recent law school graduate who came to watch the Bechler trial to “learn

from the best.”

Barnett displayed his attention to detail when he helped jurors in the

Bechler trial visualize a story that was etched in his mind.

As he made his opening statements, Barnett outlined events

chronologically on a large white board, covering each episode with a

Post-it note. He ripped off the notes progressively as he narrated the

story.

“I like to diagram cases,” he said. “For me it’s fun. It’s what I like

to do all the time. It’s a hobby and a profession.”

Yet Barnett understands that no matter how much fame and acclaim his

job can give him, it can’t give him popularity.

“I’ve defended people accused of heinous crimes,” he said.

“Kidnapping, murdering kids, multiple murders. Yes, people ask me ‘How do

you sleep at night?’ ”

But the satisfaction comes from knowing that he sent an innocent

person home, he said.

“When a doctor cures a person with cancer, everybody is happy,” he

said. “It could be Attila the Hun, but they’re happy. But when someone is

acquitted you have a lot of angry people ... People often confuse the

defendant with the defense attorney.”

Above all, Barnett appreciates his job as a thinker and as a man who

likes to walk on the razor’s edge.

“The stakes are high here -- it’s people’s lives,” he said. “It takes

practice before you get comfortable doing that. You’ve got to like doing.

“And I feel fortunate and blessed to be able to do that every single

day.”