Volatile offender faces 1st of 3 trials

Volatile offender faces 1st of 3 trials | Seattle Times Newspaper, Sept. 12, 2008:

The first of three trials for a sexually violent felon accused of a crime spree of killing, rape and assault is set to begin next week though it's still unclear whether Curtis Thompson — a volatile defendant who has threatened to kill attorneys and the judge, and has scuffled with jail guards — will be in the courtroom and how much physical restraint he will require.

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A motion filed by Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Scott O'Toole lists more than a dozen instances during the past three years when Thompson exhibited "contemptuous, threatening and menacing" behavior at or on his way to and from court hearings. Thompson "has obstructed the orderly administration of justice," O'Toole wrote.

The defendant will begin his trial in a restraint chair. If he is disruptive and does not stop after a warning, he will be moved to a separate room to watch his trial by video.

If he still disrupts the courthouse from the private room, or threatens anyone, [King County Superior Court Judge Palmer] Robinson said he would consider a motion to suspend Thompson's access to the video — and his trial — entirely.

Scott O'Toole is a Trial Ad instructor at the University of Washington.