Tony Serra was once a superstar left wing defense lawyer. So much so that Hollywood made a pretty good fictionalized movie about his life, called True Believer, starring no less than the wonderful James Woods as the Tony character. He defended Huey Newton, one of the Symbionese Liberation Army radicals, and assorted others, ranging from the rich to the impoverished.

He is flamboyant, has worn a pony tail for deacdes, and lives in the wacko hippy coastal enclave of Bolinas, a town which consistently tears down highway signs directing outsiders to their precious little town. The attitude in Bolinas is so thick that you can see it howvering in the air. Tony is one of those guys who proclaims his net worth is less than $1000, and drives an old car, as if to denounce the very concept of prosperity.

How strange, then, that Tony Serra just copped a plea: guilty of intentionally cheating on income taxes totaling $44,000 in 1998 and 1999. This is his third conviction for tax cheating. My, how greedy of him. Doesn't he want to pay his "fair share"? He says he hasn't paid income taxes since 1991.

Serra's lawyer, Randolph Daar, asked [federal magistrate] Spero to grant probation, with a period of home detention, and impose a $100,000 fine, to be raised by friends and supporters. He said Serra has lived in voluntary poverty for years and takes cases for little or no pay.

Right. An officer of the court who flouts the law, as if he is above it, deserves to serve no time, and let others pay his obligations for him.

As we all know, leftists play by a different set of rules than the rest of us. At least until they are caught. And even then, they ask for special treatment.

Throw the book at him.

Thomas Lifson  4 6 05