Baker’s request for alcohol, bench trial denied

Federal prosecutors objected Wednesday to former state Sen. Gilbert Baker’s requests to be tried by a judge instead of a jury on bribery and fraud charges, as well as his request for permission to drink alcohol

Baker and be free from random drug testing while awaiting trial.

Baker’s trial, which is expected to last two weeks, was rescheduled last week to begin Feb. 22, 2021, after he asked an April 27 trial date be postponed to give his attorneys time to digest reams of complex evidence. Prosecutors said they were ready to proceed, but didn’t object to a postponement.

Baker, also a former lobbyist and past chairman of the state Republican Party, is accused of being the middleman in an effort to bribe Michael Maggio, a former Faulkner County circuit judge now serving a 10-year prison sentence.

Maggio lowered a $5.2 million jury verdict against a nursing home to $1 million, a day after political donation checks from the nursing home’s owner arrived at Baker’s home. Some of the money went to Maggio, even though the nursing home owner said he wanted it to go to Maggio’s judicial campaign and it wasn’t an attempt to influence the outcome of the lawsuit over the death of a 76-year-old patient.

In documents filed Wednesday, prosecutors opposed Baker’s request for a non-jury trial. They said the government isn’t required to articulate its reason for opposing a bench trial, and Baker hasn’t shown a legitimate reason to deviate from the standard practice of being tried by a jury. They also noted the consent of the government and the court are required when a criminal defendants wants a trial by judge alone, and argued an exceptional case from 1979 Baker cited was much more complex than Baker’s case and doesn’t fit his circumstances.

That case out of New Jersey “involved government benefits and tax fraud charges spanning several years, involving complex issues of state, federal and income tax law, as well as different accounting rules,” and involved five defendants, each with their own attorney, charged with committing Medicaid fraud during different years, according to the documents.

Baker is the sole defendant in his case, in which he’s charged with single counts of bribery concerning federally funded programs and conspiracy, and seven counts of honest services wire fraud. He complained the case involves complex issues of state campaign finance and judicial election laws that should be decided by a judge.

Prosecutors responded, “While there are certain Arkansas statutes and rules involved here, their application in this litigation is not complex. The jury will develop a basic understanding of these statutes and rules through hearing the evidence in this case, however, the jury will not be required to determine their meaning.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Peters, who’s prosecuting the case with assistant U.S. attorneys Michael Gordon and Pat Harris, listed examples of the rules jurors will be presented with, such as a state rule prohibiting judicial candidates from soliciting or accepting campaign contributions more than 180 days before an election. She noted, “This is not a difficult rule to understand. … The issues in this case are well within a jury’s understanding.”

The prosecutors also opposed Baker’s request to modify his conditions of release to allow him to consume alcohol while ensuring he doesn’t do so excessively, and to eliminate the requirement he submit to random testing for prohibited substances.

Without testing, treatment and required abstinence, Baker’s history of alcohol and methamphetamine abuse make him a danger to the community, prosecutors argued.

Among the reasons they cited for asking conditions originally set by U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Harris on Jan. 24, 2019, remain in place were Baker’s 2016 conviction for driving while intoxicated, which stemmed from a traffic stop in Faulkner County. Citing reports from the incident, prosecutors noted his impairment “endangered other motorists,” and his blood work showed he was under the influence of methamphetamine and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.149, “which is approximately 86% above the legal limit.”

The prosecutors also asserted Baker “has a recent history of prolonged methamphetamine and alcohol use,” revealing early last year, “a close personal and professional associate” of Baker’s acknowledged supplying him with methamphetamine from 2014 through December 2018. The unidentified person said Baker had “independent access” to the drug at the person’s home and they smoked methamphetamine together two to three times a month.

Prosecutors also revealed on several occasions in 2017 and 2018, law enforcement officers had Baker under surveillance and made notes of him buying alcohol, and coming and going from the unidentified person’s home.

“Certainly, Baker was not prohibited from buying alcohol during this time or fraternizing with Individual G,” they wrote. “However, in context, these surveillances corroborate that Baker’s current drug and alcohol conditions are reasonable in light of his regular history of methamphetamine and alcohol use during the approximately 4.5 years leading up to Baker’s indictment.”

The response opposing Baker’s requests also noted he has twice violated a pretrial condition he “not use alcohol at all,” citing urine tests on April 20, 2019, and on June 27, 2019.

“Baker is still early in his recovery following inpatient treatment, and continuing to test Baker for alcohol and drugs provides Baker incentive to remain clean and participate in treatment,” Peters argued. She added he hasn’t explained why he wants the release conditions removed, especially since he’s now retired from Central Arkansas University, where he taught music after losing an executive position, “so the testing and treatment conditions do not disrupt his work in any way.”