Wheels of Justice Won’t Turn Without a Big Stick

Andy Guilford, Anaheim attorney and last week nominated as a U.S. district judge by President Bush, had Angel owner Arte Moreno under oath on the witness stand Monday morning -- and blew it.

I kept waiting for Guilford, supposedly one of the best in the business, to ask Moreno why the Angels had failed to add a power hitter to the lineup.

Guilford, though, seemed preoccupied with silly questions about what the Angels want to call themselves when it’s pretty obvious everyone on the jury would agree we can call them “big losers” if they don’t get someone who can hit the ball out of the park.

*

FOR THE last few weeks, the city of Anaheim and Moreno have been haggling over the fine print in the stadium lease. Very exciting stuff. In this setting, Karl Dullard would come off like Jay Leno.

Moreno maintains that the lease calls for “Anaheim” to be mentioned in the team’s name. So what’s the problem? The team’s name is now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Anaheim politicians are led by Mayor Curt Pringle, and it really doesn’t matter what they contend, because Pringle’s largest fund-raiser during his public career has been one of the Spanos Goofs, who own the Chargers. I don’t need any more evidence at this point to render my verdict.

*

I THINK it’s important to support our Los Angeles teams, so I reported to Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Polos’ courtroom to catch Moreno’s second day on the witness stand, wearing my Angel baseball cap, the one with the embroidered L in front of the A.

Unfortunately, no caps were allowed inside, and if you go along with the politicians from Anaheim, they’d like to do away with my cap entirely and make it the Anaheim Angels, or “AA,” as if a recovering alcoholic could handle the ups and downs that sometimes come with supporting this team.

Inside the courtroom almost everyone was dressed alike. There were more than a dozen men up front and, minus the sunglasses, it looked like a Blues Brothers’ convention, everyone in a dark suit except for Moreno’s lead attorney, Todd Theodora. He was wearing a tan suit, undoubtedly to show the jury that being different from everyone else, like his client, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Judge Polos, who must have been expecting Court TV to televise the proceedings because of the Angels’ involvement, looked like a man who had just poured a bottle of black hair dye over his head. At the very least he looked unnatural, a judge without any gray hair.

The morning session began with Guilford quibbling with Moreno on whether the L.A. skyline was featured on a kids’ T-shirt. The T-shirt had the word “Angels” emblazoned over some buildings, and it was easy to see why they had the T-shirt in the courtroom, because I can’t imagine anyone buying such an ugly jumbled mess.

Guilford then began talking about a Rolling Stones concert in Angel Stadium, saying, “All those people who were at the Rolling Stones concert did not have the name of ‘Anaheim’ exposed to them.”

I know it’s probably safe to say Mick Jagger had no idea where he was.

*

MY FAVORITE moment was when Guilford said it was his understanding that Commissioner Bud Selig had asked Moreno to check with Dodger owner Frank McCourt about changing the Angels’ name.

Guilford seemed surprised when Moreno didn’t follow Selig’s advice -- as if any sane man would.

“I wasn’t interested in talking to Mr. McCourt,” Moreno said, and I wish I had been looking at the jurors then, because I imagine most of them were nodding in agreement.

Speaking of the jury, one of the jurors, who appeared to be the leader, was carrying a Freedom Communications bag in and out of the jury box, and I wondered about that.

Freedom Communications owns the Orange County Register, and one of that paper’s reporters, hearing my observation outside the courtroom, said two of the jurors in this trial had a history with the Register, including one who was the “COO,” or previously the COO, and I can’t recall for sure what he said. But he did offer up one of their names.

Knowing how some Register reporters feel about living in the shadow of the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Times’ ad that dominates the Angel Stadium scoreboard, it’s a good thing for the Los Angeles Angels’ sake the verdict in this civil suit doesn’t have to be unanimous.

*

GUILFORD, WHO urged me outside the courtroom to push for Maury Wills’ induction into the Hall of Fame -- obviously, Los Angeles baseball was on his mind because of the Angels’ trial -- concluded his examination of Moreno by trying to get him to admit that naming the team the Los Angeles Angels was the first step in moving the team to L.A. after the 2016 season.

“If you go on to win the World Series,” Guilford said, as if that’s going to happen without another power hitter, “on what city’s behalf will you accept the trophy?”

“If you win the World Series,” Guilford continued, “where will the parade be?”

“We’re just trying to figure out how to win the World Series,” Moreno said, offering the perfect opening for someone to mention the names of Manny Ramirez or Miguel Tejada, but then Guilford sat down and the judge remained mum.

I understand now why people get so frustrated with our legal system.

*

T.J. Simers can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.