The judge who found Tom Girardi competent to stand trial saw evidence that he was faking memory problems in his relationship with his reality star wife and in the threadbare cardigan the normally handsome man wore for mental exams.
In a 52-page decision unsealed Friday, U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton wrote that the disgraced former attorney met the legal standard to face wire fraud charges stemming from what prosecutors describe as a scheme decades-long lawsuit worth $100 million that he stole from law firm clients.
“The defendant clearly understands the nature of the charges against him,” the judge wrote. He said Girardi’s “alleged denial of knowledge of the charges against him [and/or the purported failure to remember such charges once reminded of them] “It completely lacks credibility.”
Staton’s finding of competency was revealed last week, but the decision explaining his reasons was delayed to allow for the deletion of personal information. Much of his ruling is based on the conclusions of experts who testified in a series of hearings last fall.
The judge also noted Girardi’s claim that he did not remember his wife, “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne. The couple has been married for more than 20 years, although she filed for divorce in 2020 when their financial problems arose.
“Defendant’s denial of any recollection of a third wife is weakened by the fact that, during a clinical interview, he responded to a telephone call from her, accurately remembering that she was flying to Spain that day,” he wrote. the judge, referring to the testimony. from a neuropsychologist who examined Girardi for the government.
Staton also noted the ill-fitting, hole-ridden burgundy sweater that Girardi, known throughout his career for his impeccably tailored suits, chose to wear to courtrooms, interviews with lawyers and medical experts. Prosecutors have suggested he was part of a calculated plan to present himself as a mentally confused lunatic. Staton noticed Girardi rummaging through a basket for the sweater before key meetings with psychology experts.
“This tended to show that the defendant’s short-term memory was intact because he remembered having that sweater, looked for it to wear that day, and found it in the laundry room,” he wrote.
Girardi’s lawyers have argued that the 84-year-old, who resides in the dementia ward of a nursing home, has no short-term memory and does not recognize them or remember the criminal case against him when they meet.
A judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf last year because of the competency issue. Once this is decided, normal proceedings in the case will resume with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Staton admitted that his advanced age might make him less useful to his attorneys than he was at the peak of his career, when his “superior cognition and skills as a civil trial lawyer would likely have resulted in exceptional ability to participate in trials.” his own defense.”
But, he concluded, “any real decrease in these abilities or his cognition is not as severe as the defendant presents it and, stripped of the simulation and/or exaggeration described by the experts and found here by the Court, the defendant retains the ability ”. to adequately assist in his defense.’”
