Robert Durst lawyers hoping to dodge Louisiana court?
If the saga of Robert Durst isn't dramatic enough already, get ready for fireworks.
Durst, whose lawyers describe him as a "frail 71-year-old man in poor health," is set to return to a Louisiana courtroom Thursday. The real estate heir faces felony drug and weapons charges following his arrest for alleged murder last month. Durst is wanted in California for the 2000 killing of his good friend, Susan Berman.
If Durst's lawyers' recent filings are any indication, they are planning an all-out legal battle to get him out of the state of Louisiana, reports "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty. Lead defense attorney Dick DeGuerin said the arrest of Durst was "illegal."
"It was not proper. It was not correct," DeGuerin told Moriarty.
He elaborates in documents recently filed in Louisiana. According to the defense, the FBI detained Durst at 3 p.m. at his New Orleans hotel on March 14. At 6 p.m., agents searched his hotel room, uncovering a 38-caliber revolver in a coat hanging in his closet and a stash of marijuana inside a suitcase. But Durst's lawyers say the police waited nearly eight hours -- until 2 a.m. -- to get a search warrant.
"It's a pretty basic law. Police have to have a warrant," DeGuerin said.
The defense goes even further, accusing investigators of misleading a judge to obtain the arrest warrant. Durst is currently awaiting extradition to Los Angeles for the murder of Berman. He's the main suspect in the disappearance of his first wife Kathy Durst and was charged with the 2001 murder of his neighbor, Morris Black.
But he was acquitted in 2003. His arrest last month coincided with the HBO documentary "The Jinx," where off-camera audio appeared to catch him confessing to the murders.
"What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course," Durst could be heard saying.
Durst still faces a murder charge in California for Berman's death, but it's a very circumstantial case. Chick Foret, a Louisiana attorney, said the lesser state charges here could present a bigger problem for the 71-year-old.
"Robert Durst is fighting for his life and his freedom, and the battle starts at the preliminary hearing," Foret said.
That's because the defense thinks they have a much better chance of beating the rap in California than they do in Louisiana.
The wild card here is the Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon A. Cannizzaro Jr. He hasn't commented on any of these allegations, and that may be because he's hoping there won't be a hearing at all on Thursday. If he obtains a grand jury indictment Thursday, then there will be no preliminary hearing.