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Thomas Girardi, the estranged husband of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, has been deemed fit to stand trial as the once-famed attorney remains accused of stealing millions from his former clients.
Over two years after Thomas was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which one attorney said “seemed very convenient,” an expert has decided that Thomas is, in fact, able to appear in front of a jury and address the many allegations against him.
As revealed in a June 12 report from the Los Angeles Times, it was noted in a court filing by prosecutors last week that neuropsychologist Diana Goldstein “has concluded her examination and opined, among other things, that [Girardi] is competent to stand trial.”
But how Diana reached that conclusion remains unclear. That said, an online resume reveals she has lectured on the topic of malingering, which WebMD defines as “pretending to have an illness in order to get a benefit.”
As the report explained, Diana’s findings about Thomas have been kept in a sealed document that even the prosecutors who hired her cannot access — and that Thomas’ attorneys partly redacted.
Amid the decision, Thomas’ team has hired a couple of experts. However, just as Diana’s findings have been kept from the public, so have their examinations.
While there have been years of questions posed about whether Thomas, who was disbarred in 2022, is truly suffering from a disease or simply attempting to avoid being held accountable, he is currently living in a memory care facility and has been prescribed drugs for his reported dementia.
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Thomas has also been under a conservatorship run by younger brother Robert Girardi since shortly after his diagnosis, and estranged wife Erika seems convinced that he does have some sort of dementia.
“He still thinks he’s practicing law,” she told Andy Cohen during a 2022 episode of Watch What Happens Live.
Since early 2021, Thomas’ team has suggested that because of Thomas’ reported mental handicap, he is unable to reveal any details about the misappropriation of $18 million in client funds. However, up until he was accused of stealing from clients, Thomas was running his now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese, and interacting with clients.
Thomas even hosted an education panel in November 2020. And due to the suspicious timing of his diagnosis, the State Bar of California requested a judge require additional examination, stating that his cognitive problems came “only after [Girardi] became enmeshed in mounting legal troubles.”
But the judge shot down the request.
In the coming weeks, Thomas’ attorneys are expected to react to Diana’s conclusion with a filing of their own, further explaining his condition and the findings of their own medical experts.
The next hearing in regard to this case is expected to take place on August 3.
