Lawyer Misses Hearing on Kwame Kilpatrick Book Profits

DETROIT (WJBK) - A former representative of Kwame Kilpatrick's book publisher will soon be getting a visit from the sheriff. A Wayne County judge issued a warrant for his arrest Wednesday when he failed to show up in court to explain where the proceeds from Kilpatrick's book sales are going.

The Wayne County prosecutor wants an accounting of the profits and why money from the book's sale have not been used to pay the former mayor's restitution.

"At a minimum, $19,268 should have been deposited with the treasurer," said assistant Wayne County prosecutor Athina Siringas.

Jack Gritton, a Tennessee lawyer and former agent for Creative Publishing Consultants, accepted notice of the hearing on behalf of Kilpatrick's publisher, but was a no-show in court.

"It boggles my mind than an attorney would totally disregard an order of a court to appear. That's remarkable to me," said Judge David Groner.

The prosecutor wanted Gritton held in contempt, but the judge preferred sending the sheriff after him.

"I'll sign an order that issues a bench warrant for the arrest of Mr. Gritton," Groner said.

Meanwhile, Kilpatrick's lawyer, Daniel Hajji, failed in his attempt to get the Michigan Supreme Court to block the hearing, and the judge then ruled Hajji had no standing since the issue involved Kilpatrick's publisher.

The lawyer tried to argue it was a First Amendment issue. We asked him whether there is a First Amendment protection against violating a court order.

"What I'm talking about is more than that. What I'm talking about is the fact that there's a publisher involved here and that publisher's already divesting their interest in the book, so that further burdens the First Amendment," Hajji said.

The next step in the process is to get the lawyer or a representative of the publisher back to Detroit to explain where Kilpatrick's book money is going.

The court wants a big piece of Kilpatrick's book proceeds and following the money is a difficult task.