John Kearney, 68, was falsely accused of drunken driving in 2002. His contract defender, Michael Villani, went all-out to save Kearney from a wrongful conviction after taking over the case in October 2004. Photo by K.M. Cannon.
Michael Villani had no incentive to help John Kearney avoid his fourth DUI conviction.
Like other contract defenders, Villani's financial interests were with paying private clients or defendants with cases that qualified him for an hourly county fee.
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But Villani, who was appointed by Gov. Jim Gibbons to a vacant District Court judgeship last week, went to the mat for Kearney to save him from a wrongful conviction, the kind of diligent representation some contract defenders provide regularly.
Things looked bleak for Kearney, now 68, when Villani took over his case from a deputy public defender in October 2004.
The case had languished in the court system for two years. His trial had been postponed seven times. And Kearney's previous attorney had not obtained crucial pieces of evidence, including a transcript of the 911 tape that resulted in his arrest.
The tape itself was damaged and inaudible.
Kearney, an architectural designer, had spent a year in prison for his third DUI conviction, and his life was put on hold as he waited to find out if he was headed back behind bars.
He was adamant about his innocence and unwilling to accept a plea deal.
Kearney, who said he had not driven a vehicle since being released from prison in 1999, had been identified in court by a witness as the man he saw swerving through traffic in a white concrete truck in June 2002.
Police had arrested Kearney near a bar where he and a friend were drinking. The two men were intoxicated and sitting inside the type of truck the witness described to police in his 911 call.
Kearney said Villani asked him what he wanted to do.
"I told him I'm not taking a deal," Kearney said. "I said I want 12 in the box."
Villani made a flurry of court motions to jump-start the case, including having Kearney take a lie-detector test, which he passed.
The attorney sent an investigator to interview bar patrons and employees, who said Kearney had been in the tavern at the time the witness described seeing him on the road.
Most important, Villani located a transcript of the 911 tape, made before it was damaged.
The transcript showed that the caller on the 911 tape described the driver of the cement truck as about 30 years old, tall and slim with long hair and a shaggy "ZZ Top" beard, a description that did not come close to matching Kearney's actual appearance, even though at a later preliminary hearing, the 911 caller identified Kearney as the driver.
Villani pointed out to the judge that Kearney was about 65 years old, with short gray hair and no beard at all at the time he was arrested.
