Vancouver pimp appealing conviction argues that his lawyers let him down

An appeal hearing for a notorious Vancouver pimp has offered a glimpse inside the delicate negotiations that can happen between defence lawyers and an unpredictable client.

Reza Moazami is appealing his conviction on 30 charges related to his operation of an underage prostitution ring. He has signalled a number of grounds for that appeal, but Monday's hearing in the B.C. Court of Appeal focused on the argument that he was given ineffective assistance by his lawyers at trial.

In service of that argument, Moazami's current representative, Thomas Arbogast, called one of his predecessors to the stand. 

Arbogast questioned lawyer Danny Markovitz about his defence strategy and how he and his co-counsel approached cross-examination of witnesses in Moazami's trial.

"We knew what we believed to be the weaknesses of the witnesses, but we were also cognizant of their age and the sensitive nature of the charges," Markovitz told the court Monday.

"One thing that we had regrettably little control over was Mr. Moazami."

Markovitz represented Moazami from mid-2012 until March 2014, when he abruptly announced in court that he was leaving the defence team — one of multiple instances when Moazami fired his lawyers during the course of his original trial.

Much of Arbogast's questioning was focused on how Markovitz approached witnesses that Moazami was charged with sexually assaulting, suggesting the lawyer neglected to question the young victims on whether the sex was consensual.

The court heard that one of those witnesses, who was 19 years old when she met Moazami, gave an ambiguous statement to investigators.

At first, she said she had consented to sex with Moazami, but later clarified she wouldn't have consented if she had been sober.

Markovitz acknowledged that he didn't challenge her on that statement in court, but argued he believed it could only backfire by drawing attention to the fact that Moazami had given the witness GHB — the so-called date-rape drug.

He also pointed out that the young woman had testified to blacking out, which means she couldn't have consented.

"I took the position that asking any further questions of this girl … would not have assisted Mr. Moazami's case," Markovitz said.

He said he believed that when Moazami took the stand and gave his side of the story, he could prove there was reasonable doubt on that sex assault charge, as well as a second sex assault charge involving another victim, who was 16 years old at the time of the incident and in a romantic relationship with Moazami.  

'His own worst enemy'

But the appeal court heard evidence that it wasn't always clear Moazami would testify.

Under questioning by Arbogast, Markovitz acknowledged there were times during his conversations with Moazami when he knew he couldn't let the defendant take the stand.

"In reality, what I wanted was for him to tone down the rhetoric and make himself a viable witness," Markovitz said.

"There were periods of time where he would seem reasonable … and then he would revert back."

The defence team tried to prepare Moazami for testifying during mock examinations in the summer of 2013, before his trial began.

"The purpose of our mock examinations...was to see whether we could turn Mr. Moazami into an ally of his own case rather than his own worst enemy," Markovitz said.

Despite those concerns, Markovitz said it was always the defence's assumption that Moazami would testify, which is one reason why he didn't push harder with the witnesses on the question of consent.

Ineffective assistance from counsel is just one of the grounds on which Moazami is arguing this appeal. He has also suggested he was denied his right to a fair trial by the misconduct of the lead investigator in his case, disgraced former Vancouver detective James Fisher.

Moazami has also alleged that Fisher provided the young women with drugs, counselled them on how to lie and cheat in court, gave them hundreds of dollars and obstructed police investigations into their activities.

Fisher pleaded guilty in 2018 to breach of trust and sexual exploitation for kissing two young victims of sex crimes, including one young woman who testified in Moazami's trial. 

The appeal hearing is set to resume Tuesday morning in the B.C. Court of Appeal.