Modesto attorney’s death won’t stop his legal fight with DA

Frank C. Carson died Aug. 12. But the cantankerous Modesto criminal defense attorney's fight with local officials he claimed framed him for murder will go on.

Carson and two other men were acquitted last year of charges they were involved in the 2012 death of a Turlock man, Korey Kauffman. That attempted prosecution has led to multiple civil lawsuits being filed against Stanislaus County, District Attorney Birgit A. Fladager and others.

Carson's attorney, J. Gary Gwilliam, said he was preparing a motion seeking to turn his civil rights and wrongful imprisonment case into a wrongful death case. Carson v. County of Stanislaus, 1:20-cv-00747-TLN-BAM (E.D. Cal., filed May 28, 2020).

"The family and I both feel that they did hasten his death. He definitely wouldn't have died if it hadn't been for the stress they put on him," Gwilliam said. He added that he is awaiting the results of an autopsy.

Carson, 66, suffered a medical emergency while receiving dialysis treatment and died several days later. According to news reports and court documents, he suffered from kidney failure, high blood pressure and other ailments. He spent 17 months in jail over the murder charges.

Gwilliam is the founding partner of Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer in Oakland. He also represents Carson's wife, Georgia Defilippo, and stepdaughter, Christina Defilippo, in a separate civil rights and malicious prosecution case. They were arrested in 2015, also due to allegations of involvement in Kauffman's murder. Both cases are before U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley. DeFilippo v. County of Stanislaus, 1:18-cv-00496-TLN-BAM (E.D. Cal., filed April 10, 2018).

Gwilliam said he is in touch with counsel for two other men acquitted in Kauffman's death and a pair of former California Highway Patrol Officers who claim they were maliciously prosecuted as accessories to murder. Those plaintiffs are represented by attorneys with Morrison & Foerster LLP.

Fladager's office did not respond to a call seeking comment on Friday.

Attorneys with Porter Scott APC representing the defendants in Carson's civil case did not respond to an email. They filed a motion to dismiss Carson's case on Sept. 1, claiming 11th Amendment immunity for the district attorney's office and claiming Carson failed to make "cognizable state law claims."

This was followed up by a "suggestion of a party's death" filing on Sept. 3, confirming their understanding Georgia Defilippo would continue the case as successor-in-interest. The firm also filed a motion to dismiss Defilippo's original case, pending a Sept. 17 hearing.

Carson's original complaint spelled out an alleged motive for framing him: his success as a defense attorney.

"The defendant law enforcement officials for Stanislaus County -- stung by a series of high-profile defeats by Carson -- falsely and maliciously concocted a fanciful tale wherein Carson, concerned about the theft of antiques from his property, resorted to murder for hire," Gwilliam wrote.

Another criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor in Modesto, Douglas D. Maner, said the late attorney could be "abrasive" and "rude" but was also very good at his job.

Carson ran against Fladager for district attorney in 2014, and lost badly.

Carson was born June 29, 1954, in Modesto, and lived most of his life there. He graduated from Sacramento's Lincoln Law School, passing the bar in 1988 and returning to Stanislaus County to join the public defender's office. He opened his own practice in 1996.

In that role he became well known around the Stanislaus County Court for high profile wins and a style often characterized as both aggressive and folksy. He was also known for his distaste for computer technology, writing his briefs by longhand during his entire career.