Why Take a Pro Bono Case?
By Jack Marwood Short

United States v. Ward Larray Price  Case No. 89-CR-91-HDC USDC ND OK 2005 Motion Denied

United States v. Ward Larray Price  438 F.3d 1005(10th Cir. 2006) Affirmed the Trial Court

Ward Larray Price v.  United States Case No. 05-10732 (U.S. 6-9-06) Petition for Certiorari Denied

Most lawyers enter law school with an altruistic attitude. Most lawyers maintain that altruistic attitude throughout their careers. Many lawyers do a little and some do a lot of pro bono legal work.  Pro bono publico — for the public good, providing legal services to indigents without charge.

As a former assistant United States attorney, I like federal practice. So, when I returned to private practice, I became a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel of private practitioners who accept court appointments to represent indigent federal defendants. By the way, those panel lawyers and the federal public defender lawyers do an excellent job for their indigent clients — contrary to what many may think.

In early 1989, I was court-appointed to represent Ward Price charged by the U. S. attorney along with four other defendants in a big cocaine conspiracy case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.  All were young black men (I’m white). Ward was 20 years old and a former high school state champion wrestler who blew an OU scholarship after one semester. After a spirited eight-day jury trial, one defendant was acquitted while Ward, found to be the leader, and the rest were convicted.

On Feb. 14, 1990, Ward was sentenced to life in prison over my vigorous argument that his sentencing guideline offense level was based in part on evidence that was not adduced by the government in the eight-day trial so the jury could decide — a Booker argument well before Booker — but to no avail. The 10th Circuit affirmed his conviction. He didn’t deserve a life sentence in my opinion.

The Booker decision (United States v. Booker, 534 U.S. 220, decided Jan. 12, 2005) held the United States Sentencing Guidelines advisory only —no longer mandatory. Soon thereafter, Ward, who’s been a model prisoner — taking advantage of all good things prison offers, wrote asking me what I’d charge to help him try for a sentence reduction. I replied pro bono, he accepted, and I did so. From the United States District Court, 10th Circuit and a petition to the United States Supreme Court for certiorari — again to no avail.

Why take a case pro bono if you’re going to lose it? Well, I didn’t expect to lose this case. I’m still convinced when Congress enacted 18 U.S.C. §3582(c)(2) allowing the district court to reduce an imposed guideline sentence later lowered by the Sentencing Commission, it would have included: or ruled advisory only by the United States Supreme Court if Congress had thought about that possibility.

I moved the District Court to reduce Ward’s life sentence to time served — 16 years — based on the Bookeropinion and the above statute, arguing Booker’sadvisory-only decision on the USSG was tantamount to a lowering of the USSG by the Sentencing Commission. Further, that Congress thoughtfully provided the ways and means for a sentencing court to reduce previously imposed sentences; so, the Supreme Court should rule that Supreme Court decisions can, by implication, lower sentencing ranges.

There’s a lot of truth in the old saying: It’s better to have tried and lost than to have never tried at all.

Even in losing a pro bono case, I have a good feeling of doing something for someone in real need. Although when the Supreme Court denied his petition for cert I wrote Ward: “It’s with a heavy heart that I mail this bad news to you.”

Finally, you’ll just like yourself more if you’ll take a pro bono case from time to time.

If you know of an individual or organization that should be recognized for its pro bono efforts, please let us know. Submissions should be forwarded to probono@okbar.org or Pro Bono Services Subcommittee, c/o Judith Maute, University of Oklahoma College of Law, 300 W. Timberdell Road, Norman, OK 73019-0701.