Judge Sets Date for Moore Trial to Reconvene
After two weeks in a hospital psychiatric ward, former Compton City Councilwoman Patricia Moore has apparently been found competent to resume her federal extortion trial.
The 47-year-old defendant was said to be suffering from extreme depression when she was declared mentally incompetent by U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall on Aug. 15.
Marshall halted the trial pending a review of Moore’s emotional state this week by two court-appointed psychiatrists.
The judge’s clerk on Thursday notified both sides to return to court Tuesday at 8 a.m., ending speculation about when the trial would resume.
Although the prosecution and defense attorneys received copies of the psychiatrists’ findings, they have been barred by the court from revealing the contents of the reports.
The judge is expected to make a formal ruling on Moore’s competency when the trial resumes.
Moore is charged with 25 counts of extortion and income tax fraud, an outgrowth of a four-year FBI investigation of political corruption in Compton.
Moore, who served on the Compton City Council from 1989 to 1993, contends that she is a victim of a nationwide FBI plot to entrap outspoken black elected officials.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
