Attorney Milton Raiford apologizes for leaving client's case during Zappala dispute; seeks to be restored

A day after Milton Raiford, who is embroiled in a public dispute with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., refused to represent his client in court, the defense attorney changed his mind.

On Thursday, Raiford asked the court if he could return to Vanessa Williams’ case — telling Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani that he had worked out a plea with the DA’s office.

“I was wrong to not represent Ms. Williams only because of something that happened between me and another officer of the court,” Raiford said. “You asked me to reconsider, and I did.”

Mariani said it was too late.

“Your time for reconsideration is gone,” the judge responded. “How can I accept your representation when you said no deals are fair. How in the world can I accept that with what you’ve done?”

Later, he added, “You abandoned your client yesterday.”

On Wednesday, Williams was scheduled for a nonjury trial on charges of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence. However, when Mariani called the case, Raiford refused to participate. Instead, he spoke for several minutes about God, racism and cronyism in the courts.

Raiford, who is Black, called the courthouse a “cesspool of white privilege.”

His comments were in response to a May 18 email written by Zappala to all of the deputy district attorneys in his office in which he ordered them to no longer offer any plea deals to Raiford or his clients, all following statements the defense attorney made five days earlier in which he called the DA’s office “systematically racist.”

First reported by the Tribune-Review, the email was called unethical by legal experts and prompted community leaders and elected officials to call for a state Supreme Court Disciplinary Board hearing into Zappala’s actions. During Wednesday’s court proceedings, the chief counsel for that office was present.

On Sunday, Zappala issued a new policy, which his office said rescinded the one previously outlined in the May 18 email.

Still, on Wednesday, Raiford went after the DA’s office, and at the conclusion of the hearing, Mariani ordered him off Williams’ case.

“Yesterday’s performance, whatever that was, cast doubt on your ability to take on that case,” Mariani said Thursday. “You went after the DA’s office, members of this court.

“The consequences of this are that you can no longer be on this case.”

Mariani appointed Chief Public Defender Matt Dugan to represent Williams. On Thursday, Dugan told the court Williams still wants Raiford as her attorney. Deputy District Attorney Melissa Hong-Barco said that she believed Williams has a right to have the counsel of her choice on the case.

Williams has not commented about the matter.

Mariani told the parties to write a brief on the issue, and scheduled a status conference for later this month.

Raiford apologized for his actions during the previous day’s hearing. He said that his statements then would be the last he would make involving a client.

“That’s all the calling out of names I’m going to do,” he said. “I don’t need an apology from Mr. Zappala. I don’t need an apology to forgive him.”

Referring to his actions Wednesday and invoking Martin Luther King Jr., Raiford said. “Every once in a while, you have to violate policies that you think are unjust and be willing to accept the consequences.”

He also expressed remorse for the victim in Williams’ case, who will now have to return to court again to see the case reach conclusion.

“My client is contrite, sorry,” he said.

Raiford told Mariani that when he saw the email authored by Zappala, he cried. But, he continued, “I think it’s not right for me to impugn everyone at the DA’s office. It was not issued by them.”

Moving forward, Mariani said that he plans to address all of Raiford’s clients who come before him to ensure they know about the dispute between Raiford and Zappala.

“You made an assault on the entire DA’s office. Those clients have a right to be heard whether they want to proceed with you as their attorney,” the judge said.

Making good on his word, a short time later in a separate case with an incarcerated defendant, Mariani asked the man who is represented by Raiford if he knew about the situation. The man said he was not aware of it. The judge ordered a pre-sentence report in that case and continued it for 90 days.

During his exchange with Raiford, Mariani read from an anonymous letter he said he received in response to the situation with Zappala.

“‘Didn’t we do this before?’” it read. “‘Don’t ask why Black people are angry. Ask why they haven’t burned down the courts already.’”