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'A necessary witness' Carruth's co-defendant's attorney may be witness in case
Posted: Tuesday March 28, 2000 07:22 PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Lawyers for former NFL player Rae Carruth and two other defendants asked a judge Tuesday to disqualify the attorney for a fourth defendant in the Cherica Adams murder case. They said attorney James Exum, who represents defendant Michael Kennedy, could be a trial witness because he shared confidential information with the media following the shooting. Exum denied it. Superior Court Judge Charles C. Lamm did not rule on the disqualification motion before adjourning court. He said he needed to determine whether Exum was properly appointed to represent Kennedy before he can rule whether he should be removed. Lamm asked the attorneys to return to court Wednesday. On Monday, Exum filed a response to the motion, claiming Carruth paid for the gun used to kill his former girlfriend. Adams, 24, was shot four times as she drove through a southeast Charlotte neighborhood on Nov. 16. She gave birth to Carruth's son, Chancellor Lee Adams, by emergency Caesarean just after the shooting. Adams died Dec. 14. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against all four defendants. Obtained by The Charlotte Observer, Exum's court filing said: "Was I present when Rae Carruth gave money to purchase the murder weapon, paid someone to kill Cherica Adams and organized how the murder would be committed?" "No, I have no personal knowledge as to these things; however, a review of the discovery file gives ample evidence to support my explanation and commentary on the evidence as given by others," he said. The four defendants attended Tuesday's hearing. Carruth's attorney, David Rudolf, played taped interviews with radio and TV stations in which Exum stated, among other things, that Carruth plotted Adams' death because he didn't want her to have their child. "We view Mr. Exum as a necessary witness," Rudolf said. Rudolf said Exum gave the media privileged information that his client had not given to police in two separate statements. Exum said Kennedy was talking to Carruth on a cell phone at the time of the shooting, Rudolf said. "This is not what Mr. Kennedy said to the police in either of his recorded statements," said Rudolf, who has argued that Carruth was miles from the shooting scene, talking to a friend in Atlanta on a cell phone. He said Exum should be removed as Kennedy's lawyer for violating the attorney-client privilege. Attorney Leonard Kornberg, whose represented Carruth immediately after his arrest, testified Tuesday he heard Exum's statement about the phone calls to reporters outside the courthouse. Exum said he never made the statement. "I never said anyone was on the phone at the time of the shooting," he said. "I was watching the videotapes to see if I misspoke. All I said was there were phone records." Exum also said his client's comments were not protected by attorney-client privilege because he made them when police questioned him on Nov. 30. "My comments to the media were not made off the cuff," he told Lamm. "We carefully concluded what he would say. I am defending my client and establishing a position." Prosecutors told Lamm they were not urging Exum's removal because there was no evidence he made the statement. Questioned by the judge, Kennedy said he was satisfied with Exum's counsel. "He's doing a pretty good job," he said. "I'd like to keep him."
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