Aspen attorney and constitutional gladiator Gerry Goldstein has defended Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, outlaw journalist Hunter S. Thompson and National Organization of the Reform of Marijuana Laws founder Keith Stroup.
Now he can add a secretive polygamist sect with a penchant for pioneer-style dress to his peculiar client list.
Goldstein, 64, recently signed on as lead counsel to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose 1,700-acre compound was raided by authorities in Texas earlier this month after they received phone calls from someone who claimed to be a teenage girl whose 50-year-old husband beat and raped her. Police are investigating whether the call was a hoax, possibly engineered by a woman in Colorado Springs with a history of making false reports to law enforcement.
Ruse or not, police raided the polygamist sect’s enclave and removed over 400 children who many people fear may have been abused, sexually or otherwise, as they were added to the pious group’s twisted family tree. At the sect’s compound, children are taught to call all of their father’s wives “mother” and all of the men in the guarded community “uncle.” They live largely in seclusion from the outside world.
A champion of civil liberties, Goldstein questions whether the invasion of the Mormon enclave was legal and he is urging authorities to treat the polygamists and their property with dignity. They have the right to worship and privacy, he argues. Goldstein declined to discuss the case Monday. He explained that until further notice, he is not speaking to the press — period. But his close friend, Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis, said he has discussed the case with Goldstein at length at private dinners and other social engagements.
The sheriff noted that Goldstein doesn’t support polygamy, incest or child abuse. He took on the case for a larger cause.
“Part of the reason he’s involved is his courage and fearlessness to represent criminal defendants who may not always be the most popular individuals or groups,” Braudis said. “He has explained to me that the authorities obtained a search warrant for what he described as ‘an entire village.’ There are hundreds of houses and thousands of people living in the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, and (he says) he is protecting not just their constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure, but yours and mine too. He is a great gladiator in the constitutional arena.”
Asked to draw from his own long law enforcement career to opine on how a fictitious phone call to authorities might complicate the legality of the raid on the compound, Braudis said, “My knowledge of laws and cases as they pertain to search-and-seizure laws would indicate an anonymous tip for, in this case sexual abuse, may or may not cross the bar in a judge’s mind. This affidavit to search and then seize evidence from the compound was presented to a judge who signed it making the search legal until proven otherwise. But I don’t know the meat of what was represented in the affidavit.”
Goldstein is a fixture in Aspen. He spends most of every year here with his wife, Christine, and son in their rustic Aspen home just a short drive or bus trip away from the ski hill. He also has a home in San Antonio where his law practice is based. A gregarious wit, Goldstein has a diverse circle of friends that includes everyone from famous musicians like Lyle Lovett to hardscrabble ski tuners for whom he breaks out maracas and margaritas to honor at a party at his house every year.
Goldstein also knows how to have a good time in the courtroom. The cowboy-boot-clad lawyer once opposed CNN’s network broadcasting of government tapes of Noriega’s conversations with his legal defense; served as amicus curiae for John Does v. United States in 1994, arguing that attorneys should not be required to disclose the identity of cash-paying clients to the IRS; and he testified in the 1996 House Waco hearings in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the rights of Americans.
An alum of Tulane University, Goldstein went on to graduate from the University of Texas law school in 1968. He was named outstanding criminal defense attorney by the State Bar of Texas in 1991, and he is also a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
If he wasn’t a lawyer, Goldstein might’ve been a ski bum.
In between this week’s and last week’s hearings for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Texas, Goldstein returned to Colorado and skied Aspen Highlands over the weekend. But his clients need not worry about his commitment. Goldstein’s reputation is sterling.
“Gerry Goldstein is top notch. They don’t come any better,” said well-known Denver-based attorney Jeralyn Merritt. “He knows how to strategize and to litigate. He’ll leave no stone unturned and will assemble a team of experts. He’s also a really good team player.”
Goldstein flew out of Aspen yesterday en route to Texas for more court filings and appearances this week.
hoop@aspendailynews.com
