Girardi competent to stand trial, LA federal judge says

Rejecting arguments that Thomas V. Girardi, 84, is unable to aid in his defense because of dementia, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Tuesday that he is competent to stand trial on charges that he stole more than $15 million from his clients.

Judge Josephine L. Staton issued a sealed order on Tuesday, according to an entry in the case docket. United States v. Girardi, 2:23-cr-00047 (C.D. Cal., filed Jan. 31, 2023).

The decision also opens up Girardi to stand trial in federal court in Chicago, where the judge considering similar charges said she would await Staton's decision on competency rather than holding separate hearings on the issue.

The ruling follows months of depositions, hearings and filings between the parties on whether or not Girardi, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2021 by a doctor hired by his brother, is mentally competent to stand trial on five wire fraud charges that include cheating millions from five of his clients.

In August, federal prosecutors accused Girardi, former head of the now-defunct Girardi Keese law firm, of exaggerating the symptoms of his illness to avoid trial on the charges.

"Evidence of his normal routine immediately leading up to the demise of Girardi Keese [in December 2020] ... demonstrates that his instant 'symptoms' are exaggerated -- an artfully constructed self-serving portrait of a figure purportedly so diminished as to be beyond the legal system's reach," read an opposition by prosecutors to Girardi's claim that he couldn't understand or contribute to his own defense.

A public information officer with the U.S. Attorney's office in the Central District declined to comment on Staton's ruling in an email on Tuesday.

At a hearing in September, Girardi mouthed the words "fuck you" toward a prosecutor -- who promptly seized on the action as evidence of his mental acuity.

"Would it have been relevant in your analysis that the defendant just mouthed 'fuck you' to me?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Moghaddas asked at the hearing, addressing a neuropsychology expert brought in by the defense to testify that Girardi is not competent to stand trial. In later filings, the government pointed out that Girardi's aggressive reaction to the prosecutor occurred just as he had made the salient point about the now disbarred lawyer's active engagement in his affairs.

In a November brief, Girardi's defense team said the government's arguments were mere speculation.

"In contrast, the defense presented renowned experts within their respective fields to establish with hard data that Girardi suffers from dementia and is unable to rationally participate in his defense," Deputy Federal Defender Craig A. Harbaugh said in the brief.

Harbaugh and co-counsel J. Alejandro Barrientos could not be reached via phone or email on Tuesday for comment.

In a response brief, the prosecution said that Girardi's behavior through the trial provided ample evidence of his competency.

"Defendant's brief is devoid of any reasonable explanation for anomalies in his clinical presentation, the timing of his purported decline, incongruous statements made during the experts' evaluations, his selective memories, or even his live, sotto voce comment in court, all of which demonstrate his appreciation of this case and the allegations lodged against him," the prosecutors said in the response brief filed Nov. 30.

Girardi also faces similar charges in a separate case in district court in Chicago, Illinois. District Court Judge Mary Rowland agreed in September to hold off on scheduling trial dates in that case pending the outcome of the competency hearings in California.

Parties in the case now have five days to determine which parts of Staton's order will remain under seal, according to Tuesday's docket entry.