The "Porter" referenced in this was an old friend of mine, a major criminal defense attorney in San Bernardino, and he defended Gwaltney, the CHP officer charged twice with the murder or Robin Bishop. Porter hung the state jury twice and and then got a dismissal when the state tried a third time to try Gwaltney. I sat in on -- only as an observer -- the 2nd state trial that Porter did. However, the federal court convicted Gwaltney of the violating the civil rights of Bishop:
In each of two trials, Porter achieved hung juries. The prosecution sought to try the defendant a third time, but Porter was then successful in his motion to dismiss the case. Under the legal principle of double jeopardy, Gwaltney could never be tried again for this murder. The U.S. Attorney then filed a federal criminal civil rights case against the former CHP officer that went to trial Federal District Court in Los Angeles. This trial concluded with a guilty verdict after a relatively short deliberation. Porter did not represent the defendant in the federal matter. Porter was also a published author and had collaborated early in his career on legal topics with the late Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of the fictional defense attorney Perry Mason. The State Bar of California and local bar associations were also among the organizations in which Porter served and supported. He was elected to the State Bar Board of Governors, participated on numerous professional committees, and served as the president of Western San Bernardino Bar Association.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/ivdailybulletin/name/george-porter-obituary?id=23962212
George Porter on a few days of the Gwaltney trial had seats reserved in the courtroom. One a few of those days, I occupied a seat and watched him try that case. Like Rittenhouse, I found Gwaltney to be guilty as hell. However, it is not the place of a defense attorney to judge guilt or innocence. That is the purview of a jury.
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