Wisely’s Wife Wins Motion to See Her Jailed Husband More Frequently

An Orange County Superior Court commissioner Tuesday denied a motion by convicted murderer Willie Ray Wisely to add himself as a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed against his wife by Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates.

Commissioner Ronald L. Bauer ruled, however, that Wisely’s wife, Gail Marie Harrington, who is also Wisely’s county-paid law clerk, should be allowed more visiting time with her husband.

In his suit, filed last Friday in his capacity as sheriff, Gates sought $200,000 in damages against Harrington, 25, because she allegedly disrupted Orange County Jail activities by smuggling in drugs. She was arrested Aug. 12 on that charge and is now free on $25,000 bail.

Gates also sought--and received--an order barring Harrington from visiting Wisely, 34, except in non-contact areas at the jail and courthouse.

Todd W. McWhorter, a private Santa Ana attorney who presented Wisely’s motion Tuesday, argued that the restraining order had relegated Harrington to the status of a regular jail visitor, giving her only five 20-minute sessions a week to see Wisely.

“The regular public has limited hours of access (to prisoners),” Bauer said in an interview after the hearing. “Those will be expanded for her.”

Just how great the expansion will be depends on arrangements between the county counsel’s office and Gates, who will then tell Harrington what additional times she can visit, Bauer said.