Jury selection begins this morning in the trial of former Alabama Circuit Court Judge Herman Thomas, who is accused of exchanging leniency for sexual acts. At least 15 current or former inmates are scheduled to testify against the former judge now facing 83 counts of kidnapping, sex abuse, sodomy and extortion. Prosecutors want to call a sexual fetish expert to testify, reports WKRG.
Defense attorneys opposed the testimony during
a hearing Monday afternoon, saying Thomas is not accused of having a
sexual fetish, but Chief Assistant District Attorney Nicki Patterson
disagreed describing Thomas as a sexual predator who engaged in
"unusual sexual acts." Dr. Catalina Arata, a retired professor
from the University of South Alabama, is an expert in sexual abuse and
the behavior of sexual abuse victims, according to Patterson, who plans
to use the doctor as an expert witness. Fifteen alleged victims have accused the former
judge of forcing them to drop their pants while he paddled them for
sexual pleasure in a secret office near his chambers. The allegations
appear to stem from incidents that allegedly happened from 1999 to
2005. At least three of the victims say they were also forced to
perform other sexual acts in exchange for leniency in court or under
the threat of being sent back to jail.
The ruling on the expert testimony is expected today. The jury is expected to be seated today and opening statements could begin as early as Thursday afternoon, adds Mobile's FOX 10. Herman Thomas was once a rising star in the Alabama Democratic Party, a black
Democrat repeatedly elected in Mobile County which is predominantly white and Republican. The now-disgraced judge was considered "tough" on crime and is married with two teen-aged daughters. He denies being gay or bisexual. Herman Thomas Coverage on Rod 2.0:
Ex-Judge Accused of Trading Sex for Leniency
Rod, let’s say I’m an inmate. I think that I can probably get a new trial for my crime because of what Thomas did. But I still have no money, and I’ll still get assigned a public defender. Will my outcome be any better that it was the first time around?
Meanwhile, a prosecutor comes to me and says that if I testify in court that I was paddled or that the judge was wearing frilly black panties, the Parole Board will look favorably on me when I become eligible. I think I might take the deal.
Do you think Thomas’s crime was so severe that he has forfeited the right to a truthful trial?
As far as the ex-inmates are concerned, I didn’t mention them at all.
Am late to work already...
No you didn't mention the ex-inmates. You also didn't address the semen, the surveillance footage, the inmate visitor logs, the similar stories among people who don't know each other and the several defendants he coerced whose cases were heard by OTHER judges. And their desire to implicate a random judge would be ... ?
So everyone else is lying except for the pervy extortionist and disbarred former jurist whose office had semen samples of a defendant? Occam's Razor, Jim. -RM
Posted by: Jim | 08 October 2009 at 12:22
"So everyone else is lying except for the pervy extortionist and disbarred former jurist whose office had semen samples of a defendant?"
BOOM!
all those stories and ""let's says", we call that a defense where i'm from.
even beyonce could see that!
Posted by: Sasha Not So Fierce | 08 October 2009 at 19:34