Girardi Defense Undercut By His Own Doctor in Competency Hearing

A key component of Thomas Girardi’s defense—images of the indicted attorney’s hippocampal atrophy since 2017—was undercut by the defense’s own medical expert, who said neuroimaging alone cannot be the basis for a person’s dementia diagnosis.

The volume of Girardi’s hippocampus—which essentially functions as a “tape recorder” for memories—has shrunk so severely that its measurement is in the lowest percentile for people his age, defense expert and Girardi’s neurologist Helena Chui said. But a dementia diagnosis doesn’t hinge on a brain scan, she said after extensive questioning from prosecutors.

Chui also didn’t conduct tests to rule out whether Girardi was exaggerating his symptoms while preparing his report, she said on day two of Girardi’s hearing to determine his competency to stand trial on wire fraud charges. The hearing before Judge Josephine L. Staton in the Central District of California was extended to allow time for more evidence.

Chui, who chairs the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s neurology department and has been Girardi’s treating doctor for years, said she didn’t question whether Girardi was accurately reporting his thoughts when he said in 2021 that he believed his shuttered law firm was still in business.

Her other patients with Girardi’s degree of hippocampal atrophy have demonstrated cognitive impairment, she said. But this could be a biased sample, since these patients visit her for treatment, Assistant US Attorney Scott Paetty said.

Treating doctors are sworn to do no harm to their patients, Paetty said in cross-examination. “Is prison time in the best interest of your client or your patient?” he said.

The former Girardi Keese principal was indicted by grand juries in Chicago and Los Angeles and charged in both places for stealing millions from clients. He and his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty. Girardi’s firm went bankrupt, and he was granted a conservator shortly after he was accused of embezzling settlement funds meant for his clients in litigation over the 2018 crash of a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX off the coast of Indonesia.

Prosecutors say the timing of Girardi’s cognitive decline is suspicious and that the ex-husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne is faking it to avoid his trial. The defense’s medical experts say he has dementia and has hidden his symptoms well.

It’s hard to assess a person’s ability to complete activities of daily life—part of a dementia diagnosis—when he has never cooked for himself and lives in a secure assisted living facility where his needs are addressed by staff, Paetty said.

On day one of the hearing, a government expert testified that Girardi scored inconsistently on cognitive testing and was inconsistent during evaluations but when asked about a hypothetical case matching his, his musings about it were “spot on.”

Girardi’s public defender in the same hearing questioned whether the neuropsychologist was biased. Friends wrote in letters filed by Girardi’s defense that the disbarred attorney started showing signs of cognitive decline after a 2017 car crash.

If Girardi is found incompetent in the Los Angeles hearings, prosecutors will most likely dismiss the charges against him because he would not be able to face his accusers or help in his defense.

The federal Public Defender’s office represents Girardi. The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California represents the government.

The case is USA v. Girardi, C.D. Cal., No. 223-cr-00047, hearing 9/12/23.