Bubbaworld

Immediately following the initial report, local news media jumped on the story and several reports appeared in short order. The following is but a brief summary of a few such reports:

On 6/25/04, the Tulsa World in a report titled “AG aims to oust judge” quoted Clark Brewster, Judge Thompson’s attorney, as stating:

“The whole genesis for the allegations involves a well-known courthouse joke. About the time he turned 50, he was given a gag gift by a hunting buddy, a penis pump, in poor taste. It sat in the courthouse the past several years and was in various places. Many of the lawyers and court personnel were aware of it. It became the source of a lot of joking around and humor. The individuals that we believe are behind this attempt to embarrass the judge took that opportunity to blow it into a much more sinister set of allegations.”

Brewster also went on to state that the judge is horrified that the allegations have been brought against him.

Also on 6/25/04, the Daily Oklahoman in a report titled “Trial participants weigh in on judge” reported the comments of participants in the August, 2003 trial in which it is alleged Judge Thompson used the penis pump.

Jury foreman Helen Orcutt, told the newspaper that judge was “masturbating, plain and simple.” As jury foreman Orcutt was seated closest to the judge’s bench. She was quoted in the referenced report as stating:

“You could see his robe moving back and forth. It was drawing our attention away from what we were supposed to be doing. We all had the same conclusion – he was pumping himself up. You could tell by the gestures.”

On 6/27/04, the Tulsa World in a report titled, “Women: Judge changed” contained statements by Dianna Strickland, Lisa Foster and Zelma Hindman in which the women discussed events, their jobs and their fears and frustrations. The women were united in the view that Judge Thompson’s behavior took a disturbing turn about four years earlier.

The referenced report quoted Dianna Strickland who had worked for Thompson since 1983 as saying:

“He’s not the same person that he once was.”
“People say he’s just kinky, but it’s gone way past that.”
“After the investigation started, there were times when he stopped coming to work.
He wouldn’t come to the courthouse. We couldn’t find him. Nobody could find him.
Our office had boxes of his unopened mail and piles of pleadings that attorneys were leaving to be signed.
It just got bizarre.”

Lisa Foster, speaking of the penis pump said that at first the judge only used the device when someone was testifying. The report went on to quote Foster as saying:

then he got careless and continued to use it during silent moments in the court proceedings. I knew other people were hearing it. He was so into it, his shoulder would move to the sound of the pump.

In the report all three women expressed fear of being fired as the reason they did not bring Judge Thompson’s alleged behavior to the attention of authorities.

Strickland revealed that she had herself transferred from Judge Thompson’s courtroom in 2002 after deciding the working relationship had become too uncomfortable because he had allegedly made a vulgar sexual proposition to her.

Both Lisa Foster and Zelma Hindman were fired by Judge Thompson on the same day. The day after Foster testified before the Council on Judicial Complaints.

Less than a week after the Attorney General filed the petition for Judge Thompson’s removal from the bench the judge was cited for speeding and driving on a suspended driver’s license by the Glenpool, OK police department. News media reports indicated the judge’s license had been suspended since April of 2004.

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