OAKLAND — In the latest staggering twist to an unpredictable case, a federal judge has forcibly removed an ex-Antioch cop’s criminal defense attorney, openly doubting her competence and “candor with the court.”
The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White is a rarity in criminal law; it came after three weeks of legal drama, accusations, and ominous signs, starting with the abrupt end of a high-profile trial behind locked courtroom doors.
On Tuesday, it all came to a head. White found that Los Angeles-based lawyer Nicole Lopes was unfit to represent her client, former officer Devon Wenger, in a conspiracy and civil rights trial that had been expected in May. White voiced his decision through a slow crescendo of criticism aimed at Lopes over her public statements and actions in the days after White granted Wenger a mistrial, at Lopes’ insistence, earlier this month.
“There is nothing before the court whatsoever from which the court could infer that Ms. Lopes will adequately prepare herself next time around even with the benefit of co-counsel,” White said. He later acknowledged Wenger and Lopes’ mutual desire for her to stay on the case, but added, “just as Mr. Wenger would be unable to select a non-attorney for trial, he cannot select an attorney who has so greatly failed in her duty of competence and duty of loyalty.”
But White didn’t stop there; he described Lopes’ failure to respond to court orders to show cause. He said the matter would be referred to the state bar for possible discipline, and that there could be future hearings “to determine whether (Lopes) is in criminal contempt of this court.”
Reached for comment Thursday, Lopes defended her actions and suggested White was biased against her, as a woman and a Latina. She took particular issue with White’s suggestion she was dishonest when she asked for a mistrial.
“Everything I said in there is true — I didn’t commit any crime,” Lopes told this news organization. “This has been a nightmare. I’ve been practicing for eight years — I’ve never been disciplined, never been hinted at being disciplined. Nothing.”
Wenger’s trial is now set for July, but White said he is prepared to postpone it again if Wenger’s new lawyer needs more time to prepare.
White’s descriptions run contrary to the experience of her recently-retained employment lawyer, George Aloupas, who has known her for years. Aloupas described her as a “brilliant go-getter” with a solid track record, “extremely talented, bright, competent,” and worthy of admiration.
A judge removing a lawyer in this fashion is “very unusual” but not unheard of, said Rory Little, a professor at UC Law San Francisco, who reviewed court filings before a Thursday interview.
“The judge in this case has taken some care to figure out what to do next,” Little said. “He’s going step by step …This is happening with a fair amount of careful deliberation.”
Wenger was one of 14 ex-East Contra Costa cops charged in 2023 as part of a massive corruption probe led by the FBI and Contra Costa District Attorney. He is the only one who hasn’t been convicted of a crime, but faces two pending felony indictments set for trial soon — this case, and another alleging steroids distribution.
The trial for Wenger and his co-defendant, Morteza Amiri, began March 3. But just three days in, Lopes requested a mistrial, citing her own struggles with her mental health, extreme lack of sleep, and her firm’s failure to send a staffer to help prepare for the complex case; she predicted she’d be fired for speaking up about her challenges.
“In my heart of hearts, I have made my record,” Lopes, who also goes by Nicole Castronovo, said at the March 5 hearing. “I have aired all my dirty laundry. Although I may seem a personable person, I’m incredibly private.”
White listened to her, prosecutors, and Amiri’s lawyers for nearly two and a half hours before “reluctantly” granting a mistrial. He kept the related court order and transcript under seal. But then, with Amiri’s trial still underway, Lopes appeared on a podcast that changed everything.
On the Police Applicant Podcast, Lopes complained that White denied her prior attempt to sever Wenger’s case from Amiri’s, and said the mistrial was the “best” outcome for Wenger, as he would never be re-tried with a co-defendant again. She referred to herself as a “fixer,” adding, “you name it, I’ve done it,” and said, “no one saw the mistrial coming because everyone thought I was a (expletive) idiot.”
White recounted her statements Tuesday, and noted that while Amiri was convicted of two counts — violating a man’s civil rights and falsifying records — the jury acquitted him of three others, including conspiring with Wenger. That means the mistrial, “may have deprived you of a favorable outcome at trial with respect to the conspiracy charge,” White told Wenger on Tuesday.
“Ms. Lopes’ comments implied that she made serious misrepresentations to the court regarding her abilities and her mental state,” White said. “Ms. Lopes’ actions, whether strategic or genuine, had the effect of visiting prejudice on her client and Mr. Amiri.”
On Thursday, Lopes fired back, calling White’s decision to unseal a transcript of the March 5 hearing “especially cruel,” given that she divulged personal details about her past. White issued the unsealing order only after ordering Lopes to demonstrate why he shouldn’t unseal it, warning her of the consequences, and noting her failure to respond.
“All I did was tell the truth,” said Lopes, adding that she put her client’s interests above her own. “I did the ethical thing, and now look at how I’m being punished.”
As for Wenger, at the March 5 hearing the combat veteran, who served in Pakistan, agreed Lopes was “combat ineffective” as an attorney, yet said he still believed in her. He blamed Lopes’ firm’s lack of support, not her, using another military analogy to explain how he’d be reluctant to trust another lawyer in a case so consequential for his future.
“Especially in combat I have seen people who I thought were going to be solid and they just crumble when the IED gets off or when you start getting a complex ambush or start taking sustained fire,” Wenger said. “I have a very high opinion of Ms. Lopes and I trust her wholeheartedly.”
On Tuesday, White seemed to call back to these remarks, and addressed Wenger at the hearing’s end.
“You may be an expert in your field. I’m an expert in this field, and she is not competent to represent you,” White said. “She will hurt you.”