Michelle Marvin was represented by a well known Los Angeles attorney, Marvin Mitchelson. He or a lawyer in his firm drafted the complaint. A complaint is intended to give notice of the nature and basis for a plaintiff's claim. Clearly this language in the complaint does not reflect what Michelle and Lee Marvin actually said to one another. Can you imagine one of them saying the quoted words to the other and the other responding "I agree"? Given that they lived together for six years, can you imagine Michelle remembering exactly what words were spoken when she first met with her attorney? The quoted words are therefore the lawyer's construct of the essence of what Michelle claims happened.
Marvin Mitchelson recounts some of the subsequent events in his life and counts Marvin v. Marvin as one of his signal accomplishments in the following article. He died of cancer in September 2004 at the age of 76. Michelson, who handled many high profile divorce cases for Hollywood celebrities, was survived by his wife of 45 years, Marcella.
Like a Phoenix
Marvin M. Mitchelson
California Lawyer, September 2000, p. 96,
copyright 2000 Daily Journal Corporation, reprinted with permission
April 7, 1996, Easter Sunday. Another beautiful day in Los Angeles, but not for me. That was the day my 30-month sentence for federal tax violations was to begin, and I was to report to the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth prior to midnight. After a midday departure from LAX, with stops throughout Texas, I barely made it to the prison gates with five minutes to spare. This was one place I subconsciously wanted to be late to – 30 months late.
In the morning I was led into a yard where other newly arrived prisoners were congregating. I started to cry, just as I had the day before when I bid my wife and son goodbye, apologizing over and over again for the pain and humiliation I had put us all through during the previous several years- the investigation, the indictment, the trial, my suspension from the practice of law, several failed appeals, bankruptcy, a series of severe illnesses, the loss of our family home, and most of all, the loss of my reputation and my fall from grace. How had a once- successful lawyer of national and international repute, and the power behind two landmark legal cases, fallen into such a deep abyss? That morning, when I realized I would spending the next two years of my life in a new society and would be 70 years old when I got out, I decided to summon my survival instincts and face what was happening to me. I soon became a prison appellate attorney.
In 1963 I had successfully argued Douglas vs. California, not once but on two occasions, which resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court mandating that every indigent defendant had a right to free counsel for his or her appeal. . . . . That decision was made retroactive, and more than 10 million indigent defendants have since had the benefit of legal representation for their first and most important appeal.
It also didn’t take me long to find many willing clients in jail - not hard to do when fees are not an issue. But I was thrilled because I realized I could something useful in prison. Although my new clients weren’t paying, law was law, and cases were cases. My prison experience filled me with despair and humbled me, but it also removed me from the pressures and high-wire act of celebrity life and representation. I suddenly had ample time for self-reflection and reacquainting myself with why I became a lawyer in the first place.
In addition to the many criminal appeals I worked on, some successfully, there were numerous inmates who had martial problems, including being denied parental visitation rights. I was particularly proud that I was able to secure visitation rights for three prisoners, who were finally allowed to periodically see their children.
Aside from the legal work, I had other pursuits to occupy my time. While at Fort Worth, six other inmates and I started a French class. When I was transferred to Lompoc, I started an opera club.
My hopes for the future were buoyed by my bar attorneys, Arthur and Susan Margolis, who stood by me and gave me hope that I would be able to return to active practice one day. They helped make it a reality, winning the most important case of my life in the State Bar Court trial last May that resulted in my return from suspension to active practice.
Looking back on my legal life, far more important than any celebrity representation were the legal accomplishments in the Supreme Court rulings that helped make a new law in Marvin vs. Marvin . . . . However, nothing has filled me with greater pride than the recent decision by State Bar Court Judge Eugene E. Brott, when he noted what I had done in prison.
"Evidence shows that Petitioner ran the prison law library at Lompoc. He helped prisoners find law books; he assisted who could not read. He helped with briefs and appeals….
"A fellow prisoner, now an advertising executive, testified that [Mitchelson] had a unique relationship with other prisoners. In their dark existence, he was a shining light; he was everyone’s best friend. [He] always had a kind word; he had time for everyone…. People gravitated towards him- and he motivated them."
How times and circumstances can change one. I now find myself not only proud but also inclined to add these positive findings by the bar court to my new and updated curriculum vitae.