Monday, I attended the oral arguments in Ed Buck’s appeal before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena. Oral arguments are the last step in the appeal process before the Court of Appeal makes a decision. During oral arguments, all parties who filed a brief are offered a limited amount of time to speak directly to the Court of Appeal justices before they decide the appeal.
Who Is Ed Buck?
Ed Buck, for those new to this story, was a West Hollywood Democratic donor who was (finally) convicted in 2021 in the deaths of two Black gay men–Gemmel Moore in 2017 and the 2019 death of Timothy Dean. He was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison in 2022. Both Moore and Dean died of crystal meth overdoses a year and a half apart in Buck’s West Hollywood apartment. All in all, Buck was convicted on nine charges–two counts of distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death, four counts of distribution of methamphetamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, and two counts of enticement to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution.
We always knew Buck was going to appeal his sentence. We knew that before we walked out of the courthouse when he was convicted in 2021. And since this is real life, and not an episode of Law & Order, yes–it took until this year for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to hear arguments in his appeal.
What Happened In Court?
Ed Buck was not in court.
At the start of the hearing, Buck’s attorney announced to the Court that Buck’s mother and other members of his extended family were in attendance.
Each side had approximately 10 minutes and the hearing lasted less than a half an hour.
After Buck was convicted, he hired a new legal team that didn’t include the two Black attorney’s who represented him in front of the jury. His attorneys are now white.
So what were Buck’s reasons for why his conviction should be overturned?
Exactly what you would expect.
Insufficient evidence, the admission of evidence, witness testimony, and I could go on and on. Watch the video of the hearing below.
The Government pointed out to the justices that they only showed the jury a small selection of videos during the trial–12 to be exact– out of thousands Buck had on his computer. Thousands.
And yes–once again, the search of Buck’s infamous red toolbox came into question. This is the toolbox that Buck kept his “tools of the trade” in–drugs and drug paraphernalia. This was an issue during the trial as well. A deputy testified that she saw the drugs in the drawer because it was partially opened. Buck’s defense team pointed to inconsistencies in the deputy’s testimony and her filed report.
The three justices had good questions for both sides but I didn’t get the feeling that they were particularly inclined to go so far as to overturn Buck’s conviction.
For now, we wait as the Court deliberates, with no set timeline for a decision. The Court could come back in as little as three months or take as long as a year. The good thing is, Buck will remain in custody in FCI Greenville for the time being.
As soon as the hearing was over, I got up and promptly left because I had no desire to walk near or with anyone in Buck’s defense team or family.
So Now What?
Could Ed Buck go free?
Well, Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was overturned because the court found the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren’t part of the case. Pennsylvania’s highest court threw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction and released him from prison ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby. And more recently, Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were sentenced for killing their parents in 1989, have a reason for hope after Los Angeles district attorney George Gascon says he’ll review new evidence.
So yes, technically Ed Buck could go free–but realistically, I doubt it.
The United States Attorney’s Office brought a solid case, and I should know, I sat through the entire nine-day trial. One of the justices on the panel noted Monday that the evidence was pretty compelling and that since the jury convicted Buck, every inference goes in the Government’s favor. Inference is a rational conclusion that has been deduced, or proved, from the presented facts. Specifically, inference is a rule of logic that is normally used for evidence during a trial.
Me outside of the courthouse in Pasadena.
What's Next?
I know many of you are following the Ed Buck case closely, and I want to be transparent about why I don’t report on it as often. The truth is, there’s a lot happening behind the scenes, most of it tied up in legal processes that, quite frankly, are often slow-moving and pretty boring. Some of it, I can’t talk about just yet. That said, I’m committed to keeping the community informed on the significant developments as they happen. When something important breaks, I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.
Just because Ed Buck was convicted didn’t mean that it was over. This case has never been over for me or any of us still working on it. I always knew he was going to appeal and then there were the civil lawsuits–which have a life of their own.
Closure for me starts with knowing that Ed Buck is going to stay in prison for a significant amount of time. It ends with the victims and survivors of Ed Buck also prevailing in their civil lawsuits against him.
Next up is the Gemmel Moore wrongful death civil trial scheduled for November.
