Lawyers rally for Thompson

by Manju Subramanya
Staff Writer

Blast 'unfair
criticism' of judge

ROCKVILLE -- About a dozen lawyers -- including eight women -- turned out Wednesday afternoon to publicly defend beleaguered Judge Durke G. Thompson, upstaging a news conference called by a women's group to chastise him.

Glenn M. Cooper, president of the Montgomery County Bar Association, was among those supporting the judge. He told reporters in the lobby of the Judicial Center in Rockville that the association normally stays out of such controversies.

"We will become involved when there is unfair criticism of a judge," Cooper said. "The frenzy being created is entirely inappropriate."

The furor is over a March 1 decision by Thompson overturning a rape verdict. Detractors are calling for his removal from Montgomery County Circuit Court; supporters say the criticism is politically driven.

"This is an election year," said Audrey Creighton, an assistant public defender and one of eight women lawyers who came to support Thompson. "There are certain politicians in Montgomery County who are attacking Judge Thompson for self-seeking reasons."

State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler (D) descended from his fifth-floor office to the lobby to dispute that allegation before a bank of television cameras.

"This group of lawyers decided that by attacking me, they could effectively divert attention from a very serious allegation regarding Judge Thompson," Gansler said. "I have nothing to do with this."

Gansler added fuel to the controversy on the day of the ruling by issuing a news release attacking Thompson's decision.

Gansler protested that he has no opponent in the November elections. "If there were, I don't believe it would be Thompson."

Thompson, 59, is not up for election this year. His 15-year term expires in 2011.

"This has nothing to do with Doug Gansler getting re-elected," said Duchy Trachtenberg, president of the Montgomery chapter of the National Organization of Women and a County Council candidate, when she got a chance to begin her news conference. "We are here joined together against a judge biased against women."

NOW and the Women's Legislative Caucus, a coalition of 58 female legislators, expressed outrage at Thompson's action in granting a new trial to Robert Thornett Jr., 35, a North Bethesda man convicted in November 2001 of assaulting and raping his live-in girlfriend. The judge said new evidence that came to light after the verdict cast doubt on the victim's credibility and lent weight to the defense theory that she may have retaliated against Thornett for refusing to marry her.

Thompson's ruling revived the brouhaha over his infamous "it takes two to tango" comment two years ago about an 11-year-old sexual assault victim from Rockville.

NOW and the women's caucus filed separate complaints against Thompson last week with the state Judicial Disabilities Commission, seeking his removal from the bench.

Both groups also filed complaints after his "tango" comment. After reviewing more than 200 of Thompson's cases, the commission chastised the judge for his language but declined to censure him.

At Wednesday's news conference, Trachtenberg introduced several women, including two who she said had suffered from Thompson's anti-women bias.

One was Rachel Fisher, 19, who told reporters that she suffered an injustice when Robert H. James of Olney, who was convicted in 1999 of raping her, was given a new trial in April 2000.

Thompson's supporters were quick to point out that the judge had recused himself from the James case before another judge granted a new trial.

That case ended with prosecutors seeking a plea bargain; James was found guilty of lesser offenses and placed on 18 months probation in November 2000, according to court records. Prosecutors declined a retrial, Gansler said, because they did not want to put Fisher through the ordeal of testifying again.

A second woman, Joan Davis, told reporters that her ex-husband, Gregory Slatniske, burned down her Gaithersburg home. She accused Thompson of blaming her for "pushing his [Slatniske's] buttons," a complaint she had made during the "tango" uproar. Thompson sentenced Slatniske in December 1999 to serve 54 days in jail and five years probation on release, according to court papers.

The microphones and people swarming in the lobby drew numerous onlookers, some watching the spectacle from the first floor and others -- including Sheriff Raymond M. Kight and Circuit Court Judge Nelson Rupp -- sauntering closer to listen.

At one point, Thompson's wife, "Dateline NBC" correspondent Lea Thompson, walked up to reporters to say she was there to stand by her husband. "It is heartbreaking," she said, resisting attempts to get her on camera. "Our family is distraught."

Thompson himself was silent. Circuit Court Administrative Judge Paul H. Weinstein -- responding to media inquiries seeking comment -- issued a statement saying that judges are restrained by judicial ethics from talking to reporters.

"Therefore, it would be inappropriate for Judge Thompson to comment on any case presently before him; likewise, it would not further the administration of justice for other judges or court personnel to comment on a case before the court," he said.

In an unusual move, Weinstein also posted his statement on the Circuit Court's Web site.

Thompson's supporters said they were speaking out to clear the name of a judge whose reputation has been unfairly smeared.

"This is the railroading of a good judge," said Jan White, a Bethesda lawyer who works at Thompson's old law firm. "We must stand up and speak up. Judges cannot stand up or themselves."

Rockville lawyer Albert Brault said he had received only two complaints against Thompson in the seven years he has served as the judge's official alter ego -- a position designated to help hear complaints against judges from those reluctant to talk to the judge himself.

One complaint involved a witness who said Thompson's typing on his laptop computer was a distraction; another came from two lawyers who the judge said in a written opinion had been combative.