Prosecutor seeks to exclude photo from Jefferson's trial
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
April 20, 2016
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/042016_PS_Jefferson_Motions
A photo allegedly depicting a contaminated surgical tray from Baptist Health Paducah has sparked legal debate in the case against Dr. Ted Jefferson, a local surgeon.
Assistant County Attorney Jamie Mills filed a motion Friday to exclude that photo from Jefferson's trial, which is scheduled to start May 13 in McCracken District Court.
On Tuesday, Jefferson's defense attorney, Bard Brian, characterized the motion as a "motion to protect Baptist Health," adding the commonwealth is only interested in "certain truths" in case against his client.
"There are a whole bunch of things listed in (the motion) that are obviously crafted to protect some of the (Baptist Health) administrators who I've already subpoenaed to testify at trial," Brian said. "The commonwealth talks about they want the truth to come out, the whole truth, and then you get a case like this and now they're telling us, 'Well, we only want some of the truth.'"
Brian released the photo, which allegedly shows a surgical tool from a knee-replacement kit still coated in bone cement after being sterilized, to the media in February as evidence that his client's claims of unsanitary operating conditions were valid.
That photo, Mills said, is being used as a tactic to distract the court and the jury from the real issue: Jefferson's behavior.
"The photograph will only serve to distract jurors from factual issues bearing on the actual charges in this case," Mills stated in his motion. "After all, this is not a case about best hospital practices. If the defense is permitted to linger over the issue of the contaminated trays, the jury will undoubtedly think it has mistakenly found its way into a medical malpractice suit."
Mills said his motion is intended to focus the trial on what this case is really about, Jefferson's alleged threatening outburst on Jan. 26 in an operating room at Baptist Health.
"Brian is trying to muddy the waters," Mills said. "He's trying to take focus off of what his client actually did and said that day. The commonwealth has acknowledged that Dr. Ted was angry ... but that doesn't give you a right to start threatening to bring guns to work."
Brian disagreed, stating he intends to use the photo to validate his client's frustration.
"When we want to show the reason Dr. Ted got upset - this, and two other surgical trays - they don't want to hear that," Brian said. "Yet (the commonwealth has) accused him of getting upset for no reason. Well, there's a good reason right there."
Mills said he is unconvinced by the photo and questions its authenticity.
"The defense has not disclosed the origin of the photograph," Mills argued in his motion. "There is no way to verify that it was taken on the date in question. There is no way to tell if it fairly and accurately depicts what it purports to depict."
Brian has previously declined to comment on where he obtained the photo or who took it, but stated Tuesday he can prove it was taken on Jan. 26 at Baptist Health Paducah.
"Dr. Ted has an excellent case," Brian said. "I believe the jurors will see why he was so upset, and I think they will ask why hasn't Baptist Health answered the questions we've been asking."
The Sun contacted Baptist Health Paducah and received this statement:
"This appears to be yet another example of Ted Jefferson trying to divert attention from - and make excuses for - his inexcusable behavior. In the weeks that have passed since he threatened to bring an assault rifle into our hospital, our leadership has fully cooperated with inspectors and with requests to provide relevant records. Our goal is to ensure this kind of incident never happens again."
The commonwealth filed three additional motions Friday, which seek to exclude more of the defense's proposed evidence. One motion asks to exclude quality control incidents at the hospital which allegedly occurred after Jan. 26. Another seeks to exclude evidence of incidents at the hospital prior to Jefferson's alleged outburst. The third asks to limit character evidence.
A hearing for all the motions is scheduled for May 3.
Assistant County Attorney Jamie Mills filed a motion Friday to exclude that photo from Jefferson's trial, which is scheduled to start May 13 in McCracken District Court.
On Tuesday, Jefferson's defense attorney, Bard Brian, characterized the motion as a "motion to protect Baptist Health," adding the commonwealth is only interested in "certain truths" in case against his client.
"There are a whole bunch of things listed in (the motion) that are obviously crafted to protect some of the (Baptist Health) administrators who I've already subpoenaed to testify at trial," Brian said. "The commonwealth talks about they want the truth to come out, the whole truth, and then you get a case like this and now they're telling us, 'Well, we only want some of the truth.'"
Brian released the photo, which allegedly shows a surgical tool from a knee-replacement kit still coated in bone cement after being sterilized, to the media in February as evidence that his client's claims of unsanitary operating conditions were valid.
That photo, Mills said, is being used as a tactic to distract the court and the jury from the real issue: Jefferson's behavior.
"The photograph will only serve to distract jurors from factual issues bearing on the actual charges in this case," Mills stated in his motion. "After all, this is not a case about best hospital practices. If the defense is permitted to linger over the issue of the contaminated trays, the jury will undoubtedly think it has mistakenly found its way into a medical malpractice suit."
Mills said his motion is intended to focus the trial on what this case is really about, Jefferson's alleged threatening outburst on Jan. 26 in an operating room at Baptist Health.
"Brian is trying to muddy the waters," Mills said. "He's trying to take focus off of what his client actually did and said that day. The commonwealth has acknowledged that Dr. Ted was angry ... but that doesn't give you a right to start threatening to bring guns to work."
Brian disagreed, stating he intends to use the photo to validate his client's frustration.
"When we want to show the reason Dr. Ted got upset - this, and two other surgical trays - they don't want to hear that," Brian said. "Yet (the commonwealth has) accused him of getting upset for no reason. Well, there's a good reason right there."
Mills said he is unconvinced by the photo and questions its authenticity.
"The defense has not disclosed the origin of the photograph," Mills argued in his motion. "There is no way to verify that it was taken on the date in question. There is no way to tell if it fairly and accurately depicts what it purports to depict."
Brian has previously declined to comment on where he obtained the photo or who took it, but stated Tuesday he can prove it was taken on Jan. 26 at Baptist Health Paducah.
"Dr. Ted has an excellent case," Brian said. "I believe the jurors will see why he was so upset, and I think they will ask why hasn't Baptist Health answered the questions we've been asking."
The Sun contacted Baptist Health Paducah and received this statement:
"This appears to be yet another example of Ted Jefferson trying to divert attention from - and make excuses for - his inexcusable behavior. In the weeks that have passed since he threatened to bring an assault rifle into our hospital, our leadership has fully cooperated with inspectors and with requests to provide relevant records. Our goal is to ensure this kind of incident never happens again."
The commonwealth filed three additional motions Friday, which seek to exclude more of the defense's proposed evidence. One motion asks to exclude quality control incidents at the hospital which allegedly occurred after Jan. 26. Another seeks to exclude evidence of incidents at the hospital prior to Jefferson's alleged outburst. The third asks to limit character evidence.
A hearing for all the motions is scheduled for May 3.
