Attorney on Trial for Challenging Bailiff
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A defense attorney who called a prosecutor and a bailiff “asses” went on trial Thursday for allegedly challenging the bailiff to a fight.
At issue is whether Century City lawyer Daniel Hustwit willfully and unlawfully challenged bailiff Michael Ascolese to fight during a March 14 confrontation in a Van Nuys courtroom.
Hustwit acknowledges that at one point he looked at Ascolese and said, “If you want a piece of me, take off your gun and badge and let’s go outside.”
But he contends that he made the statement only after Ascolese approached him in what Hustwit said he perceived as an “unspoken” challenge to fight.
During opening statements Thursday, Deputy City Atty. Daniel A. Kleban disagreed. “It is those very words--a direct challenge uttered by Mr. Hustwit--that are the basis for the complaint,” Kleban said.
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