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Judge Denies Girardi New Trial on Wire Fraud Charges
Staton Says Defendant, Whom She Found on Jan. 2 to Be Competent to Stand Trial, Remained Competent Throughout Proceedings; Says Symptoms of ‘Mild Cognitive Impairment’ Are Being Exaggerated
By a MetNews Staff Writer
U.S. District Court Judge Josephine L. Staton of the Central District of California, has spurned disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi’s bid for a new trial based on his purported mental deficiency.
Staton, in a 52-page order filed on Jan. 2, had found Girardi competent to stand trial on wire fraud charges relating to the embezzlement of more than $15 million from clients. In an order filed Monday, she rejected the contention that since that time, the 85-year-old ex-attorney’s mental capacity had deteriorated to the point that he could not accurately perceive what was occurring at trial and therefore could not meaningfully assist his counsel.
Girardi “remained mentally competent to stand trial throughout the duration of his trial,” she declared, finding that the defendant—who was convicted by a jury on Aug. 27, after a 13-day trial, “is exaggerating symptoms of a mild cognitive impairment in order to support his counsel’s claim that he is incompetent to stand trial.”
Selective Memory
The one-time celebrity lawyer “was unable to remember topics where such inability would benefit him, such as his memory of the nature of the charges against him,” Staton said, noting that he nonetheless “discussed the charges in an insightful manner when those were presented to him as hypotheticals.”
She concluded that he “demonstrated an awareness of the nature of the proceedings as he testified,” pointing to this dialogue with the prosecutor near the end of the cross-examination”
“Q Sir, you spent your career persuading people; right?
“A I don’t know. We will find out.
“Q What do you mean by that?
“A I was looking to the jury.
“Q Right. Because you’re hoping to persuade them to believe you; right?
“A I don’t want to persuade them to believe me. I want them to believe me.”
Draws Conclusion
Staton wrote:
“This exchange shows Defendant was able to frame an answer to the prosecutor’s question that was designed to highlight his own sincerity rather than his skill as a trial lawyer.
“Moreover, the Court observed Defendant taking copious notes during trial. Specifically addressing the issue of competence, the Court offered to examine those notes but, despite multiple other in camera proffers regarding Defendant’s competency, his notes were not submitted for examination.”
She quoted herself as saying, on Aug. 22, while the proceedings were in progress:
“[H]e was quite extensive in his note-taking. Those would be the kind of things that I would want to see.”
Motion for Acquittal
Staton also denied Girardi’s motion for a judgment of acquittal on the four counts of which the jury found him guilty. She said the evidence satisfied all elements of the crime of wire fraud.
Addressing one of the elements—an intent to defraud—she said:
“There was evidence that Defendant used diverted client funds to support his celebrity-wife’s entertainment career and that he used these funds to pay for luxuries such as private jets, country club memberships, jewelry, and luxury vehicles. There is also evidence that Defendant’s story to one particular client shifted multiple times on the issue of why the client had not been paid settlement funds. There is evidence that Defendant refused to provide settlement documentation to clients and that he refused to allow an auditor to examine Girardi Keese records. All this evidence, and the evidence regarding the misrepresentations made to clients, support the inference that Defendant had the requisite intent to defraud, that is, the intent to ‘deceive and cheat’ his clients.”
(His estranged wife, Erika Jayne, is featured on reality television show, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”)
In issuing her ruling, Staton vacated a hearing on the motions that had been scheduled for Friday. Sentencing is slated to take place on Dec. 20.
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