April 28

April 28
 1 DECLARATION OF DICK DEGUERIN, ESQ.
2 STATE OF TEXAS )
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COUNTY OF HARRIS )
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I, DICK DEGUERIN, attest and declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true
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and correct:
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7 1. I submit this declaration in support of Defendant Robert Durst's Motion for Mistrial and
8 Memorandum filed in support thereof.
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2. I am an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Texas and currently serve as counsel to
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11 Defendant, Robert Durst. The following facts are within my personal knowledge and, if called as

12 a witness herein, I can and will comperently testify thereto.

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3. I have practiced criminal law since 1965. I have been an adjunct professor of law at the University
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of Texas School of law since 1994, and I have been representing Robert Durst since November
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2001.
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17 4. I have been involved in all phases of this case, People of the State of California v. Robert Durst,

18 since before his arrest in New Orleans on March 15, 2015. This declaration will address only the

19 difficulties presented by the most recent events occwring during the trial of this case.

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5. Because of the unprecedented COVID-19 Pandemic our ongoing jury trial was suspended after the
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trial recessed on March 12, 2020, and various declarations regarding health concerns have
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increasingly interfered v.itb my ability to provide assistance of counsel to Mr. DW'St. These
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declarations and concerns have constantly evolved, as the Pandemic has developed, with the result
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being neither I, nor my co-counsel, have been able to adequately confer with or provide Mr. Durst
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 l 6. I am 79 years of age and thus in the age range most susceptible to the COVID 19 virus.
2 Likewise, two ofmy co-counsel are in the age range of increased danger. I am isolated in
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my home in Houston, Texas, where I have been since March 15, having escaped from Los
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Angeles a few days before the first isolation advisories began being issued in California.
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6 7. In Houston, Harris County Judge Hidalgo issued the first stay-at-home order on March 24,

7, and various increasing level of isolation orders continue to issue.

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8. In both Los Angeles and Houston, as well as other parts of the country and indeed the
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10 world, various isolation or quarantine requirements continue to evolve, making my travel

11 to visit Mr. Durst impossible, and communication by telephone has been limited to sporadic
12 and brief monitored calls from the Los Angeles county jail, woefully inadequate to provide
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legal counsel. My co-counsel have had similar problems.
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15 9. The trial in this case has now been suspended more than sixty days, with no certain date

16 when it might be resumed. In my opinion this presents several insurmountable problems

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with resuming the trial.
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19 l 0. The first concerns are with the jury. The national economic crisis caused by the Pandemic

20 has undoubtedly affected our jurors, in as yet unknown ways, including employment,

21 career, chlld care, school, all drastic and unforeseen change ofcircumstances from the time
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ofjury selection. The court has had very little control over what has happened (and will
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continue to happen} to the jurors during the interim. Hardships expressed at the time of
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selection have undoubtedly increased exponentially. A four to five month commitment in
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26 February V\i.11 now increase to a seven to nine month requirement. Mr. Durst, or any citizen

27 accused, is entitled to a jury unencwnbered by such hardships.

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 11. The second concerns involve Mr. Durst's rights to Due Process, the effective assistance of

counsel, and the right to confrontation, as well as the right to a fair trial. Extraordinary
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circumstances beyond our control make it impossible to continue trial with the jury as
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chosen. Suggestions that part of the trial be conducted remotely, by whatever electronic or
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video method, destroy his right of personal confrontation. A suggestion that the
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7 participants distance themselves from each other makes consultation with counsel

8 impossible. The California Constitution guarantees that the accused be present in court,
9 thus prohibiting absentee proceedings.
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12. Mr. Durst is in the Los Angeles county jail. The rules about lawyer visitation are constantly
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12 changing, at times being prohibited altogether. In order to provide vital cmmsel to Mr.

13 Durst, given that the defense has committed to having Mr. Durst testify in his own behalf;
14 it is crucial that I be able to spend many hours �ith him in a secure and private environment.
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There are many hours of bis own statements that I must review with him, including his
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interviews with the producers of the Jinx program, his interrogation (in the absence of his
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lawyers) by Mr Lewin, the jail telephone conversations intercepted by the prosecution: his
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19 previous testimony, and1 importantly, review of the trial testimony as it is elicited. Due to

20 the constantly evolving rules ofthe jail and my inability to travel that review cannot be had
21 presently, and assuming the "soi:ial distancing" rules continue, coupled with the threat to
22 my health, there's no time in the foreseeable future when that can be accomplished. The
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ability to have such private consultation between lawyer and client is among the basic
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constitutional guarantees of Due Process, fair trial, and right to counsel.
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 I 13. Mr. Durst's health is precarious, having recently necessitated hospitalization for treatment
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and being scheduled for additional examinations, and his advanced age (he just turned 77)
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puts him in the high risk category for the COVID-19 virus. Given his confinement
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circwnstances and his likely exposure in the jail or in transportation to and from the hospital
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or court, the danger to him, jail and court personnel and counsel, is problematical and
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7 further complicates his access to counsel.

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14. Additionally, the risk of infection to undersigned counsel, as wen as to co-counsel, cannot
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be overstated, as well as the danger of travel. Personally1 my physician has strongly
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advised me not to travel. I am thus not able to provide assistance of counsel to Mr. Durst
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L2 under the current circumstances and for the foreseeable future, at least until a resolution of

13 this Pandemic.
14 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the
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foregoing declaration is true and correct.
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Executed on April U, 2020 at �4 �-�
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DICK DEGUERIN, ESQ.
21 DeGuerin, Dickson,..&,'Nm d
22 Jlh Floor, The Republic Building
Houston, Texas. 77002
23 Appearing Pro Hae Vice
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Counsel for Defendant, Robert Durst
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1 PROOF OF SERVICE
2
STATE OF NEVADA )
3 ) ss.
COUNTY OF CLARK )
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I am over the age of eighteen and not a party to the within action. My business
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address is 520 South Fourth St., Las Vegas, Nevada 89101.
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On April 28th, 2020 I caused to be served the documents described as:
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9 DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR MISTRIAL

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by placing a true copy thereof in a sealed envelope, with postage thereon fully prepaid to be
11 placed in the United States mail at Los Angeles, California, addressed as follows:

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xx by email as follows:
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John Lewin, D.D.A. Habib Balian, D.D.A.
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Major Crimes Major Crimes
15 211 West Temple Street, Suite 1130A 211 West Temple Street, Suite 1130A
Los Angeles, CA 90012 Los Angeles, CA 90012
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jlewin@da.lacounty.gov Hbalian@da.lacounty.gov
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Dick DeGuerin, Esq. David Z. Chesnoff, Esq.
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DeGuerin & Dickson Chesnoff & Schonfeld
19 7th Floor, The Republic Building 520 S. 4th St.
1018 Preston Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89101
20 Houston, TX 77002 Dzchesnoff@cslawoffice.net
21 ddeguerin@aol.com

22 Chip Lewis, Esq. Catherine Baen

23 1207 S. Shepherd Dr. DeGuerin & Dickson
Houston, TX 77019 7th Floor, The Republic Building
24 chip@chiplewislaw.com 1018 Preston Avenue
25 Houston, TX 77002
Cbaen@airmail.net
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1 DONALD M. RÉ, SBN 49079
A Professional Law Corporation
2 624 S. Grand Avenue, 22nd Floor
3 Los Angeles, California 90017
Telephone: (213) 623-4234
4 Email: donaldmreplc@yahoo.com

5 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the
foregoing is true and correct.
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7 Executed on April 28th, 2020, at Las Vegas, Nevada.

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___/s/_Robert Z. DeMarco, Esq.
9 Robert Z. DeMarco, Esq.
Employee of Chesnoff & Schonfeld
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