Justice William Bedsworth

Last time I looked, my old friend Dennis LaBarbera held the Orange County District Attorney's Office record for oldest case cited. It was a case called People v. Indian Peter. I can't remember just how old it was, but the caption alone tells you it was about three years older than dirt.¹

I remember counseling Denny that criminal cases have a very short shelf life, and that a case older than the Washington Monument must certainly have turned to vinegar by now. I told him citing it would be tantamount to admitting the weakness of his position. He had the perfect rejoinder: "Yeah, well my position is weak," he said. "Desperate situations call for desperate measures."²