On the fourth day of trial, two jurors notified the judge that they saw Boothe apparently giving cues to witnesses during cross-examination. The jurors said Boothe would shake his head, nod and mouth answers when each witness was asked a question, and they followed his promptings, according to court documents.
U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton
A prominent attorney has been found in civil contempt by a federal judge for coaching his witnesses on the stand during a federal trial involving the city of Vancouver.
U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton ordered a mistrial and found Portland attorney Thomas Boothe in civil contempt following the June trial, where a former city employee accused the city of Vancouver of racial discrimination. Boothe represented the ex-employee, Rolando Hernandez.
Leighton gave his decision during a hearing on the contempt charges on Oct. 12.
As a result of the judge’s decision, the city is seeking about $200,000 from Boothe to offset attorney fees. Once he receives paperwork outlining attorney fees, the judge will make a written decision on how much Boothe will be fined.
Reached by telephone, Boothe deferred comment to his appellate attorney, Phil Talmadge of Tukwila. Talmadge said his client adamantly denies the contempt allegations and plans to appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Talmadge said the contempt finding came after a “series of bad blood between the city of Vancouver and Tom.” And the charges and request for fees is an attempt to “kill the messenger,” he said.
“We don’t think the finding of civil contempt was appropriate,” Talmadge said, noting the witnesses denied that Boothe coached them.
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