Dropped suit adds drama to crime case
Settlement couldn’t prevent island accuser from testifying
The civil lawsuit against Kevin Spacey went south this week, after the lawyer for the victim dismissed the case “with prejudice,” meaning it can never be filed again. There are only two reasons a case gets withdrawn with prejudice — either the lawyer thinks the case will NEVER be strong enough to win, or it was settled for cash.
My money’s on the cash deal because the other option would mean the victim’s lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, only figured out there was no case during the six-day period between when the lawsuit was filed and when it was dismissed. Garabedian’s not a genius, but he’s not stupid.
Though settlements are sometimes confidential, this one can’t stay confidential if it requires the victim not to testify in Spacey’s criminal case. For starters, a victim never has the “right” not to testify, so such a requirement would never be in writing, as that would be grounds for obstruction of justice charges against everyone involved, including the lawyers. And Garabedian has been a staunch opponent of secret settlements in his work with church abuse victims — it would be disturbing if he’s changed his views.
A prosecutor with integrity won’t allow the civil settlement to tie their hands, no matter what the victim wants. If the victim fails to show up for trial, the prosecutor can have him arrested. And if he takes the stand but refuses to testify, or testifies falsely, he can be held in contempt or charged with perjury.
Naysayers complain that victims should have a right to choose to have a criminal case dismissed, yet we don’t let people choose to stop the fire department from squirting water on their burning homes. And studies show that preventing criminals from coercing victims not to testify prevents corruption and recidivism. Common sense. If we let eyewitnesses to bank robberies “choose” not to testify after getting paid off by the robber, we may as well make bank robbery legal.
Let’s hope common sense is in the air in Nantucket on Monday when Spacey’s criminal case is on the docket. The defense is reportedly planning to ask the court to dismiss the charges because the victim’s phone cannot be located. Nice cover story for the payoff.
The prosecutor should not be pushed around by the civil attorneys, and should immediately demand a copy of the settlement agreement and related documents. Maybe the victim pretended to lose the phone, to give the judge a plausible alternative reason to dismiss the charge.
No matter why the civil case was dismissed, the criminal case must continue, and the victim must testify, because the public has a right to know the truth about what happened at the bar in July 2016, and at Garabedian’s office last week.