Once upon a time, Chris Simcox was a media darling for American conservatives. When he was in his early-40s, Simcox co-founded a militia group dedicated to patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border. When he was in his late-40s, he challenged incumbent U.S. Senator John McCain for his seat in Washington.
When Simcox was arrested in 2013, he was working at a Scottsdale, Ariz. digital media company.?Simcox was charged with child molestation, sexual conduct with a minor, and furnishing obscene material to a child. When arraigned, he plead not guilty.
Simcox is representing himself at trial.
As his own attorney, Simcox is tasked with cross-examination of prosecution witnesses. Two of those witnesses are the girls he is accused of molesting, raising concerns that Simcox’s defense strategy may violate Arizona’s Victim’s Rights laws.
The justice presiding over Simcox’s trial, Judge Jose Padilla, doesn’t agree, which became evident when he delivered an April ruling that Simcox has the right to cross-examine the girls, now 7- and 8-years-old. This prompted Maricopa County prosecutor Jack Wilenchik to file an emergency motion with the state supreme court to delay the trial, citing Arizona’s Victim’s Right Laws. From Raw Story:
“‘There can’t be any more important right for a victim, especially a child victim, than not to be cross-examined by their own molester,’ Wilenchik said. ‘If we’re not protecting kids from that, then what’s the Victims’ Bill of Rights for?'”
When prosecutors tried to keep Simcox from cross-examining the girls, Judge Padilla denied the motion. When Judge Padilla denied the motion, prosecutors appealed the decision, setting up the events of Tuesday, July 7, 2015.
Padilla was to determine whether Simcox’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial trumped Arizona’s Victim’s Rights laws.
On Tuesday, Judge Padilla heard testimony from a psychologist, as well as the mothers of the victims, explaining to the court that testifying in front of Simcox would be further traumatizing to the girls. When testimony was concluded, Judge Padilla ruled in favor of Simcox, giving him full authority, as his own attorney, to cross-examine the girls who accused him of sexual misconduct. Padilla ruled that the mothers of the girls were “simply not qualified” to determine whether Simcox’s cross-examination would traumatize the victims further.
Judge Padilla’s assertion that the victims’ mothers weren’t qualified to determine whether further damage will be done to the victims during cross-examination comes after the judge received a letter from one of the mothers recounting the damage Simcox has done to her child. From the Southern Poverty Law Center:
“She now has nightmares and does not fall asleep without complaining of her stomach hurting. She also complains of being ‘sick’ when I have to leave her. She does not sleep through the night and most nights she finds her way into my room, even though she has her own room and bed. She worries about the doors being locked and asks over and over if they have been secured.”
The hearing is set to continue later this month.
Unfortunately, this is a situation where the rights of the accused come into conflict with the rights of the victims. I get that, but there are other ways in which this cross-examination could be handled. For example, the prosecution requested that Simcox be required to only cross-examine the girls using a court-appointed attorney as a surrogate. Judge Pedilla denied the request.
It’s absolutely disturbing that Judge Padilla is going to allow these two girls to be victimized by a depraved sexual predator a second time. Regardless of the laws being promoted to bolster each side’s position, this is still a matter where two scared little girls are required to stare into the eyes of the man who violated them while he essentially accuses them of lying. How incredibly horrific is it that these girls have to endure more trauma because of some asshole judge’s lack of initiative in trying to make the process a little less terrifying for them?
Where is the justice here?
