The Dilemma of Sara Jane Olson

Serra went on to denounce the misuse of state and federal conspiracy laws designed to trap the "Mr. Bigs" of drug dealing and other organized crime. People do not realize, he mused, that these same laws can be used for political ends, for repression of people's rights.

"Conspiracy charges are on the rise. In the last 25 years, law enforcement in this country has grown extremely powerful. We have more secret police than the KGB in Russia. We have a sea of informants out there: reliable informants, confidential informants, participatory informants, percipient informants, material informants, leniency informants, paid informants, arrested informants, sources-of-information informants, anonymous informants. We may be moving toward a totalitarian state."

Serra's sonorous voice bounced off the walls.

"Our basic freedoms have shrunk as a consequence of the strength of law enforcement, and therefore, this is a case that they will never give up. They want to fry her. She represents the SLA, and the SLA represented domestic terrorism, and terrorism is the emotional logo behind which law enforcement gains resources and power."

Serra summarized his basic belief about the system of law in a capitalist society.

"We are brainwashed into believing that the law is equally applied; the same for the rich as for the poor. I say law serves the dominating class; law is to keep the have-nots in that category. The majority of people in this country are not civilized and not sophisticated. The litmus test of civilization is the death penalty.

"I still believe in the jury system, though," he said. "The jury might see [the Olson prosecution] as political, ideological warfare, and we may get the benefit of the doubt."

But that was what Serra said about the Olson case before the tragic events of Sept. 11. Subsequently, he did not return phone calls requesting further comment.

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People on the street still ask Shawn Chapman, "Don't I know you?" In 1995, hundreds of millions of people watched as the Los Angeles attorney helped her boss, attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., convince a Los Angeles jury not to trust circumstantial evidence in the trial of Orenthal James Simpson. Chapman, 38, frequently appears as a legal commentator on national television news programs. She is a partner in a Beverly Hills law firm. She is a serious person, but she also sparkles with good humor, and is of an entirely different generation than most of the Olson defense team.

Chapman was in grade school when SLA members were incinerated in L.A. She is, however, more entrenched on the front line of the legal battle than her co-counsel. Serra, as is his habit, will not immerse himself in the details of the case until right before opening day -- a habit that appears to have concerned Chapman. Last December, according to a motion filed by the L.A. district attorney, Chapman told Superior Court Judge James Ideman that Serra "has done nothing to prepare for trial ... [and] does not speak to her and refuses to return her calls." Serra also missed three court appearances in a row, leaving Chapman in the lurch.

Last fall, Serra made a small mistake that had serious consequences. He filed a motion that contained the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of two former Los Angeles police officers who are on the prosecution's witness list. Due to a series of clerical errors, the privileged information ended up being posted on the Sara Jane Olson Defense Fund Committee Web site. The error was corrected within a week. Eight months later, Serra and Chapman were charged with a misdemeanor for revealing the information. Prosecutors Michael A. Latin and Eleanor J. Hunter (who both declined to comment for this story) had a field day in court, comparing the "tactics" of the defense lawyers to the SLA's cop-killing agenda.

The charges against Chapman were dropped as meritless. In July, Serra paid $5,000 to a police benevolent society in return for dismissal of the charge against him -- but not before he and one of the retired police officers shouted insults at each other in open court. The incident shocked several members of the defense team.

Chapman, who is paid by the court, has been on the case for more than two years. She supervises a team of paralegals, investigators, and forensic experts who review evidence as it is turned over to them by the district attorney. One senses that she is more than ready to take charge when the trial begins, although Serra, who is working for free, clearly intends to be the star in the televised courtroom drama.

Manipulating Olson's public image has been of paramount concern to the defense team. Press and media treatments, after all, can greatly influence potential jurors about whether or not a defendant is guilty as charged. The images of Olson as soccer mom and Olson as aging activist are aspects of her public relations packaging, which is not to say that her activism is not heartfelt or her soccer mom persona phony. People's personalities and motivations are complex, and sometimes unite opposites.