Jody (Babydol) Gibson \nVAN NUYS, CA - With a week of delays behind it, the prostitution trial of Jody (Babydol) Gibson is back on, though according to APBNews.com her attorney wishes it hadn't.
Gerald Scotti had petitioned Judge Lloyd M. Nash for a delay, citing a tight schedule which includes a federal trial in Las Vegas set to start March 13, but Nash gave Scotti no sympathy, the crime news service reports. "You've had since November," said Nash, referring to Gibson's arraignment on Nov. 10. "As far as I'm concerned ... this case has priority."
Gibson faces eleven counts of pimping and pandering from her arrest last summer in Van Nuys. She's reportedly planning to defend herself by saying she was actually a would-be porn film producer who had hired women to work in films she planned and not as prostitutes - but the prosecution expects to call five former prostitutes claiming they worked for Gibson as witnesses.
On Feb. 23, Scotti tried and failed to get ten felony counts reduced to misdemeanor charges of aiding and abetting. He argued the women in question went out of their way "through extreme measures" to contact Gibson, not the other way around.
Jury selection in the trial could begin Feb. 28, APBNews says, adding Nash thinks the trial could last a month while Scotti thinks it could take longer. Scotti has also planned an "exhaustive" cross-examination of the five prosecution witnesses, APBNews says, including showing porn films in which they appear.
Last week, Scotti threatened to call in rebuttal witnesses including the women's johns, who he hinted were prominent figures in business, sports, and Hollywood.
APBNews says there seemed to be tension between Gibson and Scotti, including an exchange in which she was heard telling him he was misinformed and Scotti retorting, "When did you go to law school?"
