Husband and Wife Lawyer Duo Once Accused of Planting Drugs Now Suing For Defamation

This prestigious pair had their criminal charges dismissed, and now they're mad as hell...

Last summer, we brought you a tale about some mom-and-dad law grads who had been accused of planting a potpourri of drugs and drug paraphernalia in a school aide’s car for her apparent failure to “properly supervise” their child. At the time, Kent Wycliffe Easter (UCLA Law ’98) and Jill Bjorkholm Easter (Boalt Hall ’98) were charged with conspiracy to procure a false arrest, false imprisonment, and conspiracy to falsely report a crime.

The pair later pleaded not guilty, but were indicted for those crimes in October. A fact that hasn’t been trumpeted from the rooftops — perhaps it wasn’t salacious enough? — is that according to court records, the complaint against the Easters was dismissed in November.

UPDATE (6/26/2013): But note that the grand jury indictment is still pending.

Kent and Jill Easter are understandably upset after having been dragged through the mud for so long, regardless of the fact they’re still under indictment. And so, like any lawyer would do, the Easters are now suing several parties for defamation….

Please note the UPDATES throughout this post.

Before we get to the defamation complaint, here’s a copy of their criminal case detail, courtesy of the Orange County Superior Court. Their ORIGINAL cases have been closed (click to enlarge):

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UPDATE (6/26/2013): Several tipsters wrote in to us to let us know that the Easters’ indictment is still pending, even though the original complaint against them was dismissed. There is currently a trial scheduled for Kent and Jill Easter on October 28, 2013 (click to enlarge):

As to the defamation case, the Easters are now suing the Los Angeles Times, the Irvine Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and John Does 1-100. The prestigious pair allege that numerous false statements were circulated by the authorities in their ongoing criminal case and that the L.A. Times then republished those statements with a “reckless disregard for the[ir] truth.” Last, but certainly not least, the Easters are suing the author of an anonymous review on Amazon.com (along with dozens of other John Doe defendants) for making an inaccurate statement about the content Holding House, a book written by Jill Easter under her pen name, Ava Bjork.

Here’s the review in all of its glory — written anonymously by “SchoolVolunteer”; wonder who that could be? — as reprinted in part from paragraph 15 of the complaint, and in part from Amazon.com:

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The description of this book is totally misleading. I though I was about to read a book about how a fighter and two other people plan THE PERFECT CRIME.

Instead the story is about a couple of sleazy lawyers/parents that try to frame a enemy by planting drugs on that enemy and then, in a totally unbelievable narrative, manage to make every mistake imaginable and of course get CAUGHT by the police!!! I am sorry but no two people could be so stupid as to think that they would get away with their heinous acts.

Whoever wrote this book should try a different topic next time, maybe a gritty prison drama???

This gave rise to the best line in the Easters’ complaint: “The statements are false because the book does not have a misleading description and has nothing to do with a story about ‘planting drugs on an enemy’ and the author, Jill Easter is not a sleazy lawyer/parent that made every mistake imaginable.”

As you can see, the Easters are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore. We wish them the best of luck in the future, and we’ll be sure to let you know if they prevail in their case.

(If you’re interested, you can see the full defamation complaint on the next page.)