Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Contact:  http://www.examiner.com/
Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jul 1998
Author: Tyche Hendricks

REACTION MIXED TO YAMAGUCHI QUITTING

News that coastal Northern California's top federal prosecutor is stepping
down was greeted with mixed emotions in The City's legal circles.

U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi announced Thursday that he was resigning,
effective Aug. 24. The news elicited regret from some San Francisco
attorneys and relief from others.

His five-year tenure as U.S. attorney for the northern district of
California has been troubled by complaints over his laid-back style of
management and questions of misconduct by the office and its clients, which
include customs and drug enforcement agents.

Last year he withdrew his name from consideration for a federal judgeship,
after comments he made to the press led to a mistrial in a major cocaine
conspiracy case.

But Yamaguchi, 48, said Thursday he is proud of his accomplishments and
unperturbed by the criticism he has endured.

"This is a very demanding, consuming job and it takes a toll, but it's a
rewarding job," he said. "I feel I've achieved everything I wanted to, and
it's time now to move on."

He declined to elaborate on the reasons for his departure.

Attorney General Janet Reno has appointed Robert Mueller interim U.S.
attorney in Yamaguchi's place.

Among his proudest achievements, Yamaguchi listed his office's involvement
with the Unabomber investigation and the successful prosecutions of Chinese
alien smugglers and several high-tech computer chip robbers.

He also cited his close relationship with state and local law enforcement
and an increase in women and minorities on the office's legal staff.

Yamaguchi joined the federal prosecutor's office in 1980 and was named U.S.
attorney by President Clinton in 1993, becoming the first Asian American
U.S. attorney in the continental United States.

Defense attorney John Runfola, who estimated half his cases are federal,
said he was shocked to learn Yamaguchi was leaving the job, but wished him
well.

"Michael has tremendous personal integrity," he said. "He stood by his
ideals. When you see that in this business, it really stands out."

He said criticism of Yamaguchi, particularly in legal affairs newspapers,
was unjustified.

"In the past couple years he took some shots in the press," he said.
"Because he's not a self-promoter, I don't think he really responded to
them, and that has led to some unfair criticism."

Patrick Hallinan, another defense attorney, said he was sorry to see
Yamaguchi go, but suggested he wasn't tough enough for the job.

"It's a damn shame," he said. "He's a wonderfully sweet, decent guy who
probably should have never been a U.S. attorney. He wasn't mean enough."

But attorney Maureen Kallins said Yamaguchi's lack of leadership led to
serious problems in the federal prosecutor's office.

"He wasn't at the helm," she said. "Someone in that position needs to be
really forthright and forceful or sinister forces can take over."

The office, she said, ended up being run by federal customs and drug
enforcement agents represented by the U.S. attorney.

"Those are not the people we want wielding the power," Kallins said.

She noted several cases in which prosecutors overlooked misconduct by some
of those agents. In one case against a former member of Thailand's
parliament accused of running a marijuana smuggling ring, a federal judge
criticized Yamaguchi's office for sitting on information that a customs
agent took kickbacks from a paid government informant.

"How could someone run an office and allow that to happen?" Kallins asked.

Last year, after the first phase of a trial of an alleged crack ring in
Oakland, Yamaguchi commented to a reporter that the convictions had reduced
violent crime there. Reasoning that the jury in the trial had been tainted
by the published remark, the judge dismissed the more serious charges which
hadn't yet been heard.

Yamaguchi's remarks ultimately led to the earlier convictions being thrown
out, after it was learned that the jurors had been discussing news reports
of the case.

The controversy was the primary factor in Yamaguchi's decision to withdraw
his name last year from consideration for the federal bench, despite a
recommendation from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Yamaguchi said Thursday he had been loath to undergo a potentially grueling
confirmation process as a Clinton nominee facing a Republican Senate.

Defense attorney Hallinan said he was sorry Yamaguchi didn't make it onto
the bench.

"He would have made a terrific judge. He would have listened to everybody,"
Hallinan said. "What went wrong is, he was dog paddling in a sea of
sharks."

In spite of his critics, Yamaguchi stood by his record and his staff.

"When you take this type of job, you have to deal with both the positive
and the negative," he said. "It's foolish to think any government office is
going to escape criticism."

About the future, he said only that he had some other opportunities and
wanted to take time off to consider them.

Mueller, Yamaguchi's interim replacement, currently heads the homicide
division of the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia and
previously served as assistant attorney general in the criminal division.

San Francisco attorney John Keker, who declined to comment on Yamaguchi's
tenure, said he thought highly of Mueller, who was a fellow student at
Princeton University. "He has a long and distinguished career as a
prosecutor," Keker said. "He's a well-respected, first-class guy. The U.S.
attorney's office here is lucky to get him."

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Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)