Skip to main contentHotshot criminal-defense lawyer Randy Ray Richardson is currently under investigation for possible witness tampering (see cover story, WW, May 28, 2003) but that didn't stop him from showing up at court last week to defend Eddie Lama Bynum Jr.--who is himself accused of witness-tampering.
Richardson filed a not-guilty plea on June 2 for Bynum, who was accused of intimidating a woman who had accused him of rape last October. According to court records, the alleged victim told police that on May 10 she was waiting at a Rose Quarter bus stop when Bynum approached and asked if she was still going to court against him. He then allegedly punched her several times in the head.
Ironically, Bynum testified in an earlier case of Richardson's, an attempted murder trial that ultimately triggered the district attorney's probe into Richardson's alleged witness-tampering.
That investigation has reportedly expanded to include a different attempted-murder case, this one against Bynum, that Richardson handled earlier this year. Bynum was acquitted after a key prosecution witness disappeared the day she was scheduled to testify.
Richardson may not be Bynum's lawyer for long. At press time, prosecutors were expected to ask a judge to kick Richardson off the case, since Bynum may be asked to testify against his own counselor.
--Nick Budnick
WWeek 2015