Bubbaworld

Editorial comment of the Webmaster of Bubbaworld.com

Perhaps the most alarming aspect of this remarkable fiasco is the total lack of public effort on the part of anyone within state government or the judicial system to investigate its implications for those found guilty in Judge Thompson’s court.

Basically two primary issues arise, depending upon whether Judge Thompson in fact engaged in the conduct of which he is accused.

Issue #1: If in fact Judge Thompson was masturbating in court during both jury and non-jury trials who is to say with reasonable assurance that persons convicted in Judge Thompson’s court received fair trials? How could a judge engaged in masturbation ever be expected to be able to devote the degree of attention required to conduct a fair trial? This is particularly the case in a non-jury trial where the judge alone is responsible for not only conducting the trial but determining the guilt or innocence of the accused.

Issue #2: If in fact Judge Thompson did not engage in the conduct of which he was accused it means only one thing and that being that both members of the Sapulpa, Oklahoma Police Department and employees of the Creek County District Court engaged in a conspiracy to frame the judge. In such a scenario how can any one say with reasonable assurance that persons convicted in Creek County District Court received a fair trial? If a police department and court staff are willing to frame a sitting judge odds are they would have no hesitation in framing anyone accused of a crime.

We at Bubbaworld do not know if Judge Thompson is guilty or not guilty of the actions for which he was accused. Owing to his retirement which terminated the court action to remove him from office we may never know, unless criminal charges are brought and the judge ultimately has his day in court.

In any case, someone needs to be asking the hard questions of our state’s judicial system. Either Judge Thompson engaged in misconduct or he didn’t. Regardless of whether he did or did not masturbate in court the implications for Oklahoma’s criminal justice system are immense and honestly few if any seem to give a damn.

The above is the archive of the Bubbaworld original article on the scandal. Following the publication of this initial article, a series of updates were made to keep readers informed of progress of the case. Those brief updates are provided here in to cover the period from October 2005 until the start of the trial of the Masturbating Judge of Oklahoma.

Update #1:

On 1/07/05, Thompson’s former courtroom and chambers were searched by an investigator for the District Attorney and an agent of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation executing a search warrant. News media reports indicated that the investigators seized a sample of carpet from under Thompson’s bench, fabric from his courtroom chair, a trash can, substances swabbed from wood and a light switch under the judge’s bench, carpet shavings, cloth from a chamber chair and two judge’s robes.

Update #2:

On 1/20/05, former District Judge Donald D. Thompson was charged in Creek County District Court with three felony counts of indecent exposure. The indecent exposure incidents are alleged to have occurred on May 13, 2003, August 22, 2003 and September 11, 2003 in Judge Thompson’s chambers or in his courtroom during both civil and criminal trials, two of which were murder trials.

At Thompson’s initial hearing Associate District Judge Gary L. Maxey of Vinita, OK, assigned to the case by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, released Thompson on personal recognizance. A preliminary hearing in the case is currently scheduled for March 22.

If convicted Thompson faces a punishment range of 30 days to 10 years in prison and/or fines of $500 to $20,000 per count.

Update #3:

On 3/22/05, former District Judge Donald D. Thompson appeared in Creek County District Court for a preliminary hearing. Thompson waived the hearing and is scheduled for arraignment on 18 April, 2005. Thompson’s attorney Clark Brewster was quoted in media reports as saying:

We very calculatingly declined the necessity for a preliminary hearing today. The judge still firmly denies these sensational charges and looks forward to his day in court.

Update #4:

According to court records, on 4/15/05, the arraignment hearing scheduled for April 18th for former District Judge Donald D. Thompson was continued until 5/13/05. No further information is available at this time.

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