Tom Girardi has been declared competent to stand trial.
The decision made by U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Stanton was announced on Tuesday, January 2, Us Weekly can confirm.
The ruling, which comes despite Girardi’s 2021 Alzheimer and dementia diagnoses, means the 84-year-old disbarred attorney will have to face a jury on criminal contempt and wire fraud charges in Orange County, California. He also faces separate federal charges in Chicago.
Ahead of the decision, Girardi reportedly swore at a prosecutor during a mental competency hearing in September 2023.
According to Courthouse News Service, Girardi interrupted proceedings at the time to mouth “f—k you” to one of the prosecutors. The prosecution then suggested that Girardi’s outburst was proof he understood his situation and knew he had “nothing to lose.”
Girardi’s legal woes have also affected his estranged wife, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, whom he split from in November 2020.
“I still have legal things that are tying up, and they will take time because that’s the legal process. But I want to move on,” Jayne, 52, exclusively told Us in October 2023. “Every time someone asks me about Tom Girardi or something like this, you realize you’re cutting open a healing wound and you’re stabbing around in it, and that hurts.”
One month after Jayne and Girardi called it quits after 20 years of marriage, the pair were named in a class action lawsuit that accused Girardi’s former law firm, Girardi Reese, of misusing funds designated for the families of plane crash victims.
In June 2023, Jayne met with multiple individuals who accused Girardi of misusing their settlement money.
“I came here with an open heart to listen to what’s going on, hear what happened and figure out how to be a part of how to move forward together in a way that’s beneficial for all victims,” Jayne told Page Six at the time.
The Bravolebrity has also spoken out about Girardi’s health struggles.
“Tom lives in a memory care facility,” Jayne said during a May 2022 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “I can only say, decline and further decline. It will not get better. … He thinks he’s still practicing law.”
Despite the dramatic circumstances surrounding their separation, Jayne exclusively told Us in May 2022 that she was “still mourning” her and Girardi’s marriage.
“I think that gets lost in the sensationalized version of it all. This was someone I was married to for over 20 years and was with, like, 23 [years]. It’s difficult,” she said. “There are real moments of sadness, real moments of — like when the holidays came around, you know, for Christmas, I would just remember how much fun we would have. … But what are you going to do with that? These things happen in life. They happen to everyone; everyone’s mourning something.”
