◆ SpookStack

Schrade Petition Later that same month, one of the wounded victims on the night of the assassination, Paul Schrade, filed a civil law suit for personal injuries suffered the night of the shooting naming Sirhan and ten John Does as defendants. The nature of this civil suit was that Schrade was presently seeking to establish the identity of the person or persons who caused his injury. As parallel action to the civil matter filed in Superior Court in early August, 1975, Schrade filed an application for an order authorizing the inspection, examination, and testing of several ballistics and firearms exhibits in the Sirhan case. Application for inspection and testing was filed in Department 1, before Judge Robert Wenke, Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. It was Schrade's contention that certain exhibits in the criminal ‘proceedings against Sirhan could furnish evidence and information necessary for his pending personal injury action in another superior court. Schrade contended that he had recently learned certain "facts" which supported the conclusion that persons other than Sirhan might have been involved in the assassination of Senator Kennedy and in causing his own injury. He felt that such an examination and testing of the exhibits would give factual infor- mation essential to achieving proper discovery information in his personal injury action. As a corollary to both civil law suits, Schrade, through a third attorney, filed an action seeking injunctive relief com- pelling the Los Angeles Police Department to reveal the ten-volume Summary of the Robert Kennedy investigation, the so-called Special Unit Senator File. In support of his application to in nspect, examine, and test the gor tous ballistics, firearms, and clothing exhibits, Schrade filed: a. supporting affidavits of Robert Jolling, who as President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, added cre- dibility to the advocacy of re-examination and testing; b. the declaration of William Harper stating that based upon his 1970 examination and his more recent examination of the bullets, shell cases, and the Sirhan weapon, Harper felt that the only reasonable conclusion from the evidence developed by the 7 ae et me wae was Se ee er ee Se = police was that two guns were fired in the kitchen pantry; Cc. a partial transcript of Supervisor Ward's May, 1974, Hearings highlighting the testimony of criminalist Herbert MacDonell; wherein MacDonell relied on Harper's and Ward's balliscan photos, which suggested to MacDonell a difference in cannelures and the possibility of two guns; d. a partial transcript of the 1974 Baxter Ward Hearing in | which Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas Noguchi stated that the muzzle of the Sirhan weapon was "very, very close" to Senator Kennedy; ' O