A judge on Tuesday refused to stay the rape case against That ’70s Show star Danny Masterson because of anti-Church of Scientology barbs, two candidates have lobbied against each other in TV ads supporting their opposing campaigns to win the mayoral election in Los Angeles.
Jury selection for the trial is now scheduled to start next Tuesday at LA Superior Court Criminal Court downtown, where the Scientologist actor, 46, has pleaded not guilty to raping three women at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003 .
But his legal team filed a motion urging Judge Charlaine Olmedo to delay the trial until after the Nov. 8 mayoral election, arguing that a jury could be prejudiced against Masterson by “inflammatory” and “negative” remarks that both candidates have made in campaign ads that condemn. Scientology.
Judge Olmedo rejected that argument, telling the court that the “sheer size” of the jury’s catchment area — LA County and its 88 independent cities — is “sufficient to ensure a fair and impartial jury.”
“There is no evidence to suggest that everyone has a negative view of Scientology,” she said.
A judge on Tuesday refused to delay the rape case against That ’70s Show star Danny Masterson. Masterson is seen leaving court on Monday
Masterson’s accusers are former Scientologists and are also suing him and the Church of Scientology in civil court
Masterson’s attorney, Philip Cohen, asked the judge to delay the trial until after the Los Angeles mayoral race on Nov. 8. In a campaign TV ad, candidate Rick Caruso used footage of his opponent Karen Bass at a Scientology event and spliced in clips that appear to indicate she supports the controversial church. Bass responded in her own ad, saying she does not support the church, insisting: ‘Everyone knows Karen Bass condemns Scientology’
Referring to the campaign ads of US Rep. Karen Bass and billionaire developer Rick Caruso, the judge added that even if the court were to continue the trial until after the election, ‘the public would still have been exposed to them.’
Judge Olmedo also dealt another defeat to Masterson — who appeared in court Tuesday in a gray suit, blue shirt and black-and-gray striped tie — by denying his motion to exclude all references to Scientology from the trial, which is expected to last. four weeks.
Judge Charlaine Olmedo denied Masterson’s request to delay his trial Tuesday
Masterson’s lawyer, Philip Cohen, had argued on Monday that references to Scientology would be ‘irrelevant, inflammatory, confusing to the jury and in violation of his client’s First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights’.
But the judge disagreed, telling the court: ‘There is no evidence to support the proposition that an adverse view is inadmissible (at trial).
“Even evidence that is prejudicial is still admissible if it is relevant… And Scientology evidence is relevant.”
Judge Olmedo said the Scientology evidence was relevant because it was important to the credibility of the three accusers, and explained why it took so many years to report Masterson to the police: they feared retaliation from the Church.
She added: ‘There is no basis to believe that the Scientology evidence is so inflammatory that no jury can reach an impartial verdict.’
Regarding Cohen’s claim that bringing the name Scientology into the lawsuit would ‘infringe’ on Masterson’s First Amendment right to practice a religion of his choice, the judge said: ‘Nothing in my view would interfere with his right to believe Scientology. .Scientology evidence will be admitted.’
Masterson – who has been free on $3.3 million bail since his arrest in June 2020 – scored a small victory today when the judge ruled out a former Scientologist who described himself as someone who had ‘escaped’ the controversial church , from testifying for the prosecution as an expert witness.
The defense had objected to the former church member, saying she was ‘biased’ and not qualified to be an expert witness.
Masterson’s accusers – whom DailyMail.com identifies only as Jane Does 1 through 3 – are all former Scientologists and are also suing him and the Church of Scientology in civil court, claiming they have been harassed and intimidated since reporting the actor to police .
Both candidates – Rick Caruso and Karen Bass – have bashed the Church of Scientology in TV commercials
Bass has previously been criticized for attending a Scientology event and issued a statement in 2020 saying: ‘Everyone is now aware of the allegations against Scientology’
In the criminal rape case, all three broke down in a three-day court hearing last May when they took the witness stand to give harrowing and harrowing accounts of being raped by Masterson.
Jane Doe 1 told how he threw her in his jacuzzi, raped her and then pulled a gun on her and told her: ‘Don’t say a bad word. You won’t tell anyone.’
Jane Doe 2 described how he ‘wrecked her like a rag doll and beat her from behind like a hammer.’
Jane Doe 3 told how she woke up naked to find Masterson raping her, and when she tried to fight him off, he hit her and spat on her, calling her ‘white trash’.
The three said before each alleged rape Masterson gave them a drink, after which they felt “blurred” and disoriented.
At Monday’s hearing, Masterson’s attorney, Cohen, argued that Bass and the Caruso campaign’s television ads critical of Scientology could sway a jury against his client because of his membership in the Church.
In one ad, Caruso used footage of Bass at a Scientology event and spliced in clips that appear to show her endorsing the controversial church. Bass responded in her own ad, saying she does not support the church, insisting: ‘Everyone knows Karen Bass condemns Scientology.’
Masterson’s lawyer, Philip Cohen, had argued on Monday that references to Scientology would be ‘irrelevant, inflammatory, confusing to the jury and in violation of his client’s First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights’
Masterson (second row left) played wisecracking Steven Hyde on That ’70s Show from 1998 to 2006
One thing both candidates agree on is that “they don’t like Scientology,” Cohen said in court. “The public is being inundated with this (campaign ads) – that’s a significant problem for Mr. Masterson.’
He called the ads “terrible timing for the defense,” adding that any move the Democratic mayoral candidates make “to distance themselves from Scientology gives them a better chance of being elected mayor of Los Angeles.”
‘There is a really negative view of Scientology, and every time Scientology is mentioned, it gets harder and harder for Mr. Masterson to have a fair trial.’
Telling the court that the public view of Scientology is “more negative than any other religion,” Cohen added. ‘There is a significant chance of prejudice in bringing Scientology into this case.’
Prosecutor Reinhold Mueller defended his intention to bring Scientology evidence into the trial, saying: ‘Scientology is not a defendant here. But there will be aspects of Scientology that will come in here that will explain what happened.
‘There would be so much that would be inexplicable to the jury if they didn’t know the Scientology context we’re talking about.
“Scientology has been a part of their lives,” added Mueller, who explained that the alleged victims feared retaliation from the Church, which they believed did not allow them to report another church member to the police.
They feared that if they did, family and friends still in the Church would turn their backs on them, he said.
Last year during Masterson’s trial hearing, Judge Olmedo criticized the Church for its ‘written doctrine that not only discourages but prohibits’ a Scientologist from reporting another Church member to the police.
And she said the church’s ‘expressly written doctrine sufficiently explains the hesitation and delay’ in reporting the alleged rapes.’