from www.marinij.com – James Raphael Whitty Mitchell, the pornography heir charged with killing a Novato woman last year, has his third defense attorney in less than six months.

Douglas Horngrad – who took over in March after Mitchell fired former San Francisco district attorney Terence Hallinan – withdrew from the case this week after a private meeting with Judge Kelly Simmons.

Horngrad declined to comment on why he dropped Mitchell as a client, but he said Mitchell’s new lawyer, Stuart Hanlon, is a “great attorney.”

“He’ll be a perfect lawyer for Mr. Mitchell,” Horngrad said Thursday.

Hanlon, based in San Francisco, is known as an aggressive lawyer who has defended high-profile clients such as Geronimo Pratt, the former Black Panther, and Emily Harris of the Symbionese Liberation Army.

Mitchell’s first change in attorneys forced the judge to push back the trial date, now set at Jan. 20. That date still stands for now, but prosecutor Charles Cacciatore expressed concern about additional delays.

“It’s really important in domestic violence cases to prosecute in a timely manner,” he said. “It’s been 14 months since the murder, and we want to keep this trial on track.”

Mitchell, 28, of Pittsburg is accused of clubbing Danielle Keller to death with a baseball bat and kidnapping their 1-year-old daughter. The attack occurred in July 2009 at the Novato home Keller, 29, and the baby shared with Keller’s mother.

Police arrested Mitchell later that night after tracking down him
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and the baby in Citrus Heights. The girl was not physically injured.

Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, domestic violence, kidnapping, child abduction, child endangerment, stalking and a special allegation of murder during the commission of a kidnapping.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

Mitchell, whose late father and uncle founded the Mitchell Brothers pornography empire, is being held without bail at the Marin County Jail.