Judge sanctions ‘Heavy Hitter’

A District Court judge sanctioned personal injury attorney Glen Lerner on Friday for missing the first day of a client's murder trial in January.

District Judge Michelle Leavitt ordered Lerner, known in his law firm's advertisements as "Heavy Hitter," to pay $2,490 in jury fees and state costs and cover the attorney's fees for the new murder trial of his former client, Mario Lino.

Lino is now represented by the public defender's office.

Leavitt could have held Lerner in contempt and jailed him.

Appearing in court in a blue suit, Lerner apologized profusely for missing the Jan. 22 trial date and took full responsibility for the mistake.

In contrast to his often humorous commercials, Lerner was subdued throughout the hearing.

"We come here obviously expressing our apologies," he told Leavitt. "Obviously, it's been an inconvenience on the court. It's been an inconvenience on Mr. Lino. I've taken a hammer on this and deservedly so."

Lerner said he prided himself on establishing a 100-attorney practice with a solid reputation and didn't want this incident to sully his name.

Leavitt accepted his apology, saying she didn't take it personally or think Lerner's actions had been directed at her.

She said she was angry at the lack of respect Lerner showed the court when he failed to show up to the January trial. She also was miffed that a few days before the trial, Lerner left a message on a prosecutor's voice-mail saying the judge could sanction him for missing the trial if she wanted to, but he wasn't returning to Las Vegas from Pennsylvania, where he was on a "sabbatical."

Leavitt called the incident "surreal."

Lerner said the voice-mail was part of his tough negotiating strategy but conceded it was a lot of "huff and puff."

"I was posturing, I am way too old to be leaving silly messages like that," he said.

Lino, 41, has been in the county jail since May. He is accused of killing a man he suspected was having an affair with his wife. Lino faces a possible life sentence.

Lerner, who mostly takes personal injury cases, represented Lino free of charge because Lino once worked on his pool.

Lerner attended Friday's court hearing with Carl Arnold, who was Lerner's co-counsel on the Lino case, and attorney Dominic Gentile, who represented Lerner and Arnold.

They explained that the trial was missed through a series of errors and presumptions.

About a month before the trial, Lerner and Arnold filed a motion to withdraw as Lino's attorneys. Leavitt denied the request, in part, because the document had the wrong defendant's information attached.

Arnold accidentally missed a Jan. 15 status hearing and the attorneys never requested that the court postpone the trial.

Arnold said he believed the judge wouldn't start the trial on Jan. 22 because the defense was arguing to have evidence kept out of the trial.

After Friday's hearing, Lerner said he was happy with the outcome.

"I'm just thankful that the judge didn't ... (hold) me in contempt," he said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-1039.