AP — A federal judge in Muskogee who ordered former state Sen. Gene Stipe to report to a federal prison hospital in Missouri on May 23 expressed frustration at continuing delays in the case.
In an order issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Ronald White agreed to move Stipe's reporting date from May 15 to May 23 after Stipe's lawyers said he needed additional time to recover from surgery and for a follow-up visit to his doctor.
Stipe, 80, was scheduled to undergo surgery last Friday.
White noted in the order that the Stipe case has been dragging on for more than a year since jurisdiction had been transferred to his court from Washington, D.C.
In his order, the judge wondered how long a defendant can "avoid imposition of justifiable court orders merely because of his age and medical condition? Where does it end? Anarchy? Dogs and cats living together?"
Stipe's attorney, Clark Brewster, said he had not talked to his client since the surgery, but said he understood the procedure went well.
White also noted in his order that the defense and prosecution attorneys in the case had agreed upon a new reporting date without first consulting the court.
"On the one hand, the court is grateful that it has before it parties and counsel who are amenable to considering the exigencies of daily life and compromising their steadfast positions to cooperate with the other side," White wrote in his order.
"On the other hand, the court might be somewhat justified in experiencing annoyance at being left out of the loop in making a decision that is vested is sound discretion. 'Oh right, somebody better remember to tell the judge ...'"
White originally ordered Stipe to report to the U.S. Medical Center for Prisoners in Springfield, Mo. by noon on Nov. 16, 2007.
The judge, who had ruled Stipe mentally incompetent to stand trial, wanted to see if treatment at the federal prison hospital could restore Stipe's competency enough to face an attempt by federal prosecutors to revoke his probation on previous federal charges connected to illegal campaign contributions.
However, White then allowed Stipe to remain under house arrest with electronic monitoring while Stipe appealed the judge's order to the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colo.
Last week, Stipe's attorneys informed the Tenth Circuit Court that they wanted to drop the appeal. The high court later complied with the request.
Information from: McAlester News-Capital, http://www.mcalesternews.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
