Activist lawyer, journalist, defenestrated?
LAWYER FALLS TO DEATH AT HOTEL
Police suspect Paul Sanford committed suicide
By Julia Reynolds, Monterey Herald Staff Writer
In what police describe as a “probable” suicide leap, a prominent Monterey Bay Area attorney fell at least nine floors to his death at the Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay in Seaside the morning before Christmas.
Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Sunday, officers found the body of Aptos attorney Paul Sanford in the west end of the hotel lobby, where he had landed on a large ventilation grate.
Police Capt. Steve Cercone said horrified guests were eating breakfast in the atrium at the time, and a number of witnesses saw Sanford fall from somewhere between the 9th and 12th floors.
… He appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 beside Elk Grove resident Michael Newdow when he argued unsuccessfully that the words “under God” should be stricken from the Pledge of Allegiance.A passionate believer in “a dynamic Constitution,” Sanford always carried a copy of the U.S. Constitution in his pocket, Mills said. “He was a champion of the downtrodden, he represented homeless people in Santa Cruz, and fought for free speech,” Mills said. “He did a run across America. You name it he’s done it. This is a real shock and a loss to the community.”
Mills said Sanford decided in recent years to add journalism to his many occupations.
Almost immediately, he caused a stir after he joined the White House Press Corps in 2005, making waves as the first reporter to ask then-White House press secretary Scott McClellan whether the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s name might be considered an act of treason.
“There has been a lot of speculation concerning the meaning of the underlying statute and the grand jury investigation concerning Mr. Rove,” Sanford asked. “The question is, have the legal counsel to the White House or White House staff reviewed the statute in sufficient specificity to determine whether a violation of that statute would, in effect, constitute treason?”
McClellan was apparently flustered by the question and replied that “those are matters for those overseeing the investigation to decide.”
… Friends and associates expressed disbelief at the news of Sanford’s death and that it was ruled a suicide, saying Sanford seemed happy and had made many plans for this week and in coming months. Mills said he and Sanford recently decided to open a shared law office to serve Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, something Sanford was looking forward to doing…. Mills said he had spoken to Sanford’s wife, Paula, and that she also was in shock. He said Sanford, a father of two, was a devoted family man.
“This is a horrible thing for his family. He would never have intentionally put his family through that trauma. Something’s not right, it doesn’t make sense.”
Police said that before Sanford fell, hotel housekeepers saw him pacing the hallway of an upper floor. Cercone said Sanford’s car was parked next to the hotel, and he was not checked in as a guest.
Police declined to state exactly why they ruled the case a suicide.
Mills said he and Sanford often met at Chili’s restaurant next to Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay because the KRXA studio was nearby. …
Julia Reynolds can be reached at 648-1187 or jreynolds@montereyherald.com.
(End of article from The Monterey Herald)
