Testimony ends in case involving a local lawyer

By CHERY SABOL

The Daily Inter Lake

Testimony has concluded in a California probe involving a Whitefish attorney.

John "Jack" Quatman is at the heart of an investigation into whether there was an effort to exclude Jews from juries in death-penalty cases when Quatman was a prosecutor for Alameda County in California. He worked there for about 26 years.

Quatman reportedly submitted an affidavit in 2003 that says he and a late Superior Court judge colluded to keep Jews off a jury that sent to death row a man whom Quatman prosecuted in 1987.

Quatman and his wife, Phyllis, moved to Whitefish in 1998. Jack Quatman made an aborted bid for Flathead County Attorney about four years later.

At the end of the week-long hearing, the probe centered on Quatman's honesty. Several attorneys were subpoenaed to testify about Quatman's veracity. There were mixed reviews.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, George Williamson, representing the California attorney general's office, said Quatman is a devious, bitter liar who made up the story to embarrass his former boss, Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff.

"You can't believe Mr. Quatman when his lips are moving," Williamson said.

But appellate attorney Gary Sowards said there is no proof that Quatman lied about his collusion with the judge in the death-penalty case of Fred Freeman. Freeman should have a new trial because the state presented "no material facts" disproving Quatman's allegation of illegal misconduct at trial. He said that even though prosecutors had tried to discredit Quatman, notes from the trial supported his allegations that jurors with apparently Jewish names had been struck.

Last week, local attorneys who testified reflected both viewpoints about Quatman.

Kalispell attorney David Stufft said that when he was first contacted by the California attorney general's office, he said he believes Quatman's reputation for truthfulness is good, although he has butted heads with Quatman's wife, Phyllis, in the past.

On March 21, Stufft heard again from prosecutors, who said they wanted him to testify. He flew to California Thursday and repeated his belief that Quatman is an honest man. Prosecutors decided they didn't need him after all, Stufft said.

"They said it was all a misunderstanding," he said.

They drove him to Oakland, Stufft said. But defense attorneys for Freeman showed up and took him to a hotel.

Friday morning, Stufft showed up to testify. Prosecutors said he was released from his subpoena and he'd have to find his own way home, he said.

Stufft testified about Quatman favorably, as he said he would.

So did Whitefish City Judge Brad Johnson. According to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle, Johnson agreed that Quatman is considered to be honest.

That was disputed by three other attorneys though.

Kalispell attorney Dan Wilson, a law partner of the Quatmans for a year ending in 2000, testified that Jack Quatman was bitter and angry. He said the couple quickly made enemies.

"Jack and Phyllis Quatman had a way of alienating judges that was really detrimental," Wilson said outside of court. "It's one thing to fight hard and win; it's another to make enemies like that. I thought it wasn't a good career move to stay with them."

Attorneys Dean Chisholm of Columbia Falls and Sean Frampton of Whitefish also testified that Quatman had misled them about documents and relevant information in civil cases.

Frampton said that when he became ill in September 2001 and fell into a coma, his secretary and his law partner had spoken to Quatman about seeking delays in a trial. Quatman refused both times, Frampton testified. When Quatman was asked about the delays in court, he said no one had asked him about it before, Frampton said.

"There was a specific misrepresentation to the court," he alleged.

Frampton denied having any animosity toward Quatman once they settled the civil case. Frampton said he had caught Quatman lying another time but couldn't remember the details because "of a black hole in my brain" from when he was in a coma.

Tuesday, Frampton said the matter is "certainly making a lot of press down there" in California.

Also subpoenaed was Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan, who has been critical of the Quatmans. He was on vacation and did not testify.

Jack Quatman ran against Corrigan in 2002, saying people wanted change in the county attorney's office.

He withdrew from the race before the election for personal reasons. Then, he said, "We're here to stay in Flathead County… We're not dying. We're not getting divorced. We're not shooting at the neighbors. There's nothing coming out in my background that I'm worried about."

His decision to withdraw was private, he said, and based on family concerns.

"Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do."

In the California case, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy, who was appointed by the California Supreme Court to determine the veracity of Quatman's allegations, will make recommendations to the Supreme Court by Wednesday.

The court will then decide if Freeman is entitled to a new trial.

The ramifications for Quatman are not clear.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com