An appeals court, in granting a defense motion to delay the start of the trial until September 4, had instructed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler to allow pretrial motions to go forward while prosecutors appealed the decision. The appeals court is to hear prosecution arguments June 22. But Olson's attorneys told the judge Monday they could not effectively represent their client, accused in an alleged attempted bombing in 1975, while defending themselves against the misdemeanor charges. The Los Angeles city attorney filed those charges against defense attorneys Tony Serra and Shawn Chapman after a defense motion containing the names, addresses and phone numbers of two Los Angeles police officers involved in the case appeared on an Internet site soliciting money for Olson's defense.
State law prohibits attorneys from releasing personal information about witnesses in public filings.
The California State Bar also is looking into the incident. Serra and Chapman asked Fidler to free them of the charges, but the judge said he could not get involved. Instead, he asked Serra to file a motion within two weeks outlining the problems posed by the charges. Fidler also said the charges make it impossible to proceed with pretrial motions in Olson's case. Olson is accused of conspiring to kill two LAPD officers by placing bombs under two squad cars in 1975.