Thrusday, January 14, 1999
Judge allows Flynt trial delay for surgery
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
As long as Larry Flynt keeps his appointment with a surgeon next week, his obscenity trial in Cincinnati will be delayed for more than two months.
A judge granted Mr. Flynt's request for a delay Wednesday on condition that he follow through with his plans to undergo surgery in Los Angeles.
Mr. Flynt and his brother, Jimmy, were scheduled to go on trial next Tuesday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.
Both men face 15 felony charges stemming from the sale of sexually explicit videotapes at their Hustler store on Sixth Street. If convicted, each could face more than 20 years in prison.
Mr. Flynt, who has been in a wheelchair since he was shot in 1978, informed his attorneys late last week that his doctor had advised him to have surgery within 10 days.
In a request to delay the trial filed Monday, Mr. Flynt's lawyers said he suffered from a serious urological problem common among paraplegics.
“It's a severe problem that needs treatment,” said H.
Louis Sirkin, one of Mr. Flynt's attorneys.
Despite some skepticism and stern words, Judge Patrick Dinkelacker said he had little choice but to give Mr. Flynt the benefit of the doubt.
“A lot of people put a lot of time and planning into this,” the judge said. “I don't take this lightly. I don't want to continue this case, but there's not a whole lot I can do.”
He told Mr. Sirkin he would set a new trial date for April 5 and warned him that Mr. Flynt had better have surgery on schedule.
“If he doesn't undergo surgery, we're going to trial,” Judge Dinkelacker said. “If he's not here, he'll have other problems.”
The request for a delay comes during a week in which Mr. Flynt has appeared on several national talk shows and news programs to discuss his campaign to reveal sex secrets about members of Congress.
Mr. Sirkin said Mr. Flynt's health problems did not interfere with his media appearances because they did not involve traveling far from his Los Angeles home.
“He's been doing the TV from a studio close to his home,” Mr. Sirkin said after the hearing Wednesday. “He's been going there and then it's back home to bed.”
To support his argument for a delay, Mr. Sirkin submitted a sworn statement from Mr. Flynt's doctor. The doctor, Stuart D. Boyd, is a professor of urology at the University of Southern California.
“In my opinion, Mr. Flynt needs to be treated surgically as soon as possible,” Dr. Boyd said in his statement.
He said Mr. Flynt's condition, a urethral diverticulum, has caused several infections that will worsen unless he has the surgery.
Mr. Flynt did not attend the hearing Wednesday, remaining in Los Angeles. A spokeswoman for the Hustler magazine publisher said Mr. Flynt was home sick Wednesday.
Prosecutors said they were prepared to go to trial on schedule Tuesday but would not oppose delaying the case if he actually undergoes surgery.
“If he elects not to, we want him here for trial Tuesday,” said assistant prosecutor Thomas Longano.
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