THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
                 MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE 
                NORTHEAST DIVISION AT COOKEVILLE

 IN THE MATTER OF:

 THE PUTNAM PIT, INC. AND 
 GEOFFREY DIVIDIAN, 

       Plaintiff 

  -vs-                     No. 97-0108

 CITY OF COOKEVILLE AND
 JIM SHIPLEY, in his official capacity
 as City Manager of the City of 
 Cookeville, 

       Defendants 

  DEPOSITION OF:
  WILLIAM EDWARD GIBSON 
         October 4, 2001

 APPEARANCES:

 SAMUEL J. HARRIS, Attorney at Law
  P.O. Box 873 
  Cookeville, TN.          38503
 (Counsel for Plaintiff)
 JOHN C. DUFFY, Attorney at Law
 P.O. Box 131
 Knoxville, TN. 37901-0131 
 MICHAEL O'MARA, Attorney at Law 
 317 West Spring Street 
 Cookeville, TN. 38501 
 Counsel for Defendants) 
 Prepared by: 
 CARLA YORK HANNAH, C.S.R. 
 449 Roma Drive 
 Crossville, TN. 38555
 

   Page 1

1           INDEX
2
3      Direct Examination by Mr. Duffy     Page 3 
4      Cross Examination by Mr. Harris     Page 52 
5      Re-Direct Examination by Mr. Duffy  Page 104 
6      Re-Cross Examination by Mr. Harris  Page 106 
7      Certificate of Reporter             Page 108 
8      Exhibits                            Page 109
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25
                           Page 1a 


1     This is the deposition of WILLIAM EDWARD 
2      GIBSON, taken by agreement of counsel, at the city hail 
3      of Cookeville, Tennessee, at approximately 2:50 p.m. on 
4      October 4th, 2001, taken for proof pursuant to the 
5      Rules of Civil Procedure. 
6       All formalities as to caption, certificate 
7      and transmission are waived. It is agreed that Carla 
8      York Hannah, court reporter and notary public for the 
9      state of Tennessee, may take the said deposition by 
10    stenograph machine and tape recorder, transcribing the 
11    same to typewriting. The signature of the witness is 
12    hereby expressly waived.
13 
14    MR. CASEY:     United States District Court, 
15    Middle District of Tennessee, Northeast Division at 
16    Cookeville, The Putnam Pit, Incorporated and Geoffrey 
17    Davidian, plaintiffs versus City of Cookeville and Jim 
18    Shipley, in his Official Capacity as City Manager of the 
19    City of Cookeville. This is a deposition of Attorney 
20    General Bill Gibson. We're at the city hail in 
21    Cookeville, Tennessee. This is October the 4th at 
22    2:48 p.m. of the year 2001. My name is Mike Casey. I am 
23    doing the video deposition in this case, Michael's Video 
24    Productions, 1570 Brown Avenue, Cookeville, Tennessee.
25    The attorneys will now identify themselves. 

Page 2

1      MR. DUFFY:     John Duffy for the defendants.
2      MR. HARRIS:    Sam Harris for The Putnam Pit
3      and Geoff Dividian, the plaintiffs. 
4      MR. CASEY:     Also present is Mike O'Mara, 
5      attorney for the City of Cookeville. The court reporter 
6      will now swear in the witness. 
7 
8 
9     WILLIAM EDWARD GIBSON, having been first 
10    duly sworn, testified as follows: 
11                       DIRECT EXAMINATION 
12    BY MR. DUFFY:
13     Q.             We should also stipulate that this is a
14    deposition for proof. What is your name, sir? 
15     A.            William Edward Gibson. 
16     Q.            And how are you employed, sir? 
17     A.            I'm the District Attorney General for 
18    the State of Tennessee, the Thirteenth Judicial District. 
19     Q.            And are you going to be out of the 
20    country during the week of October 9th? 
21     A.            I am going to be out of the country 
22    from the 7th of October through the 14th, hopefully. 
23      Q.           All right, sir. Tell the members of 
24    the jury what counties the Thirteenth Judicial District 
25    encompasses, if you will.

Page 3

1       A.           It's seven counties in upper middle
2      Tennessee: Overton, Pickett, Clay, Putnam, Cumberland,
3      White and DeKalb Counties. 
4       Q.           And how long have you been District 
5      Attorney General for the Thirteenth Judicial District? 
6       A.           A little over eleven years. I took 
7      office the first time September the 1st of 1990. 
8       Q.           Were you then re-elected in 1998? 
9       A.           I was. 
10     Q.           And the district attorney serves eight 
11    year terms, I believe? 
12      A.           That's correct.
13      Q.           All right, sir. What is... what is the
14    job of the district attorney general in the thirteenth 
15    judicial district? 
16      A.           Well, the district attorney's principle 
17    duties include prosecuting criminal cases in all of the 
18    courts where state charges are brought against 
19    defendants. The pursuit of justice is a good way to put 
20    it. 
21         The district attorney has a role in pursuing the 
22    guilty and also protecting the innocent from frivolous 
23    prosecution. 
24         We also have other duties. We work closely with law 
25    enforcement. We train, we do trainings with law 

Page 4

1      enforcement. We work closely with victims of crime to
2      arrange services for them. We advocate for victims. The
3      district attorney has a very wide and varied job 
4      description. 
5      Q.           Does the office of the district 
6      attorney have any impact on the business community in the 
7      judicial district that you operate? 
8      A.            Well, as with any place, the level of 
9      crime or the level of safety that the citizens in a 
10     community feel or citizens looking prospectively at 
11     coming to a community, if it's a safe place, then that 
12     certainly would have an impact on the community as far
13     those issues. 
14      Q.            And what do you do to engender
15     confidence in the business community with respect to the 
16     safety and the justice system in the judicial district in 
17     which you operate? 
18      A.            Well, our area, of course, unlike many, 
19     is a relatively safe area to live in. We are pro-active 
20     in many areas. 
21         We work with the law enforcement agencies and we pay 
22     particular attention to street level crimes and I think 
23     those things are at a minimum here. 
24         We work pro-actively with domestic violence, other 
25     resources, the domestic violence agencies. We work with

Page 5

1      the mediation services, because some issues are just not
2      particularly well suited. People will take criminal
3      warrants out on each other for issues that should be 
4      mediated. 
5      We're involved in our communities in a lot of 
6      different ways that all come back one way or another to 
7      keeping the community safe and attractive for people that 
8      might consider coming here. 
9      Q.           Let me ask you specifically about 
10     Putnam County. Now is your office located in Cookeville? 
11       A.           My office is located in Cookeville, my
12     main office. We also have a satellite office in 
13     Livingston and one in Crossville. 
14       Q.           And do you believe the Putnam County 
15     area is a good location for business or a bad location 
16     for business? 
17     MR. HARRIS:    I'm going to object to the 
18     leading. 
19     WITNESS:       I think the Putnam County area 
20     is... 
21     MR. HARRIS:    (Interposing) I'm also going to 
22     make an objection here as to what his foundation is, as 
23     to his qualifications to give this opinion. 
24     WITNESS:  I think the Putnam County area 
25     is very good for business in a lot of different ways.

Page 6 


1      And the one I'm most familiar with is that it is an area
2      where people can feel safe.
3      Q.             All right. Any other reasons that you
4      believe it to be a good place for business?
5      A.             Well, I just think it's a good
6      location. We're well served by highways. We have an
7      attractive area of the country to be in.
8      I think the people here are good. I characterized
9      it at a recent talk I was giving somewhere that, you
10     know, if you scream in a parking lot around Cookeville
11     and Putnam County, somebody is going to come and help
12     you. And that says it pretty well.
13     The people around here care about each other. And I
14     think people that come here find us to be friendly. 
15      Q.            All right, sir. Do you know Jim 
16     Shipley, the city   manager for the City of Cookeville? 
17      A.            I do. 
18      Q.            Are you social friends with him? 
19      A.            No, not social friends at all. I just 
20     know him through I guess occasional business dealings 
21     where the district attorney's office had some dealing 
22     with the City of Cookeville. 
23       Q.           All right, sir. Do you know the 
24     plaintiff in this case, Geoffrey Davidian? 
25      A.            I do know Mr. Davidian.

Page 7


 

1      Q.             How did you come to know Mr. Davidian?
2      A.             Several years ago Mr. Davidian came to
3      Cookeville and introduced himself as a journalist. The 
4      first way that I really became acquainted with him was 
5      indirectly. I had heard that he was here investigating, 
6      doing an investigation on a murder case that was going on 
7      here, a murder investigation or a death investigation. 
8     That Mr. Davidian had received a speeding ticket 
9      from the city police department and he was taking issue 
10     with that in the court system. 
11         And at some point at that time, and it's been 
12     several years ago, but Mr. Davidian did, in fact, start
13     calling and coming to see me. 
14      Q.            All right, sir. Did he ask you or make 
15     inquiries with respect to the death of Darlene Eldridge? 
16      A.            He did question the death of Darlene 
17     Eldridge. 
18      Q.            And by the way on the speeding 
19     ticket... the speeding ticket, excuse me, what if anything 
20     did Mr. Davidian tell you about his theory for why he got 
21     this speeding ticket? 
22      A.            Well, he came in and he was I think at 
23     that point in time questioning the Constitutionality of 
24     the municipal court and he was asking me questions. And 
25     he was, either in conversations with me or maybe with

Page 8

1      others, had implied that he got . . . 
2      MR. HARRIS:    (Interposing) I'm going to 
3      object as hearsay to the extent it was conversations with 
4      others, unless the foundation is laid as to these 
5      conversations. 
6      Q.            And right now I'm asking what 
7      Mr. Davidian told you. 
8      A.            Well, Mr. Davidian's whole tone was 
9      that he had been stopped and harassed by the Cookeville 
10     Police Department because he was in town doing a 
11     journalistic investigation of a death case that they were 
12     investigating. 
13         That he was looking over their shoulder and that 
14     this was some sort of a warning to him to leave it alone 
15     is what he implied to me. 
16         And I asked Mr. Davidian, you know, the first 
17     question I had was, you know, were you actually speeding 
18     or not? And he said he didn't know. That that wasn't 
19     important. That wasn't the issue. The issue was, 
20     whether he was speeding or not, he felt the motive behind 
21     the traffic stop was on account of what he was here for. 
22      Q.            I see. Tell the jury was there an 
23     investigation by one or more agencies into the death of 
24     Darlene Eldridge? 
25      A.            There was an investigation. I think it

Page 9

1      was headed up originally by the Cookeville Police
2      Department and assisted by the State Fire Marshall's
3      Office. And later at the request of the family, the 
4      T.B.I. was called in to back up the city's investigation 
5      or to follow down, to follow additional leads. To kind 
6      of oversee the city's investigation and do anything else 
7      that needed to be done. 
8      Q.            What did Mr. Davidian tell you about 
9      his relationship with the Eldridge family or the Eldridge 
10     investigation? In other words, why he was here in the 
11     city of Cookeville? 
12      A.            Well, I don't think Mr. Davidian
13     himself ever told me what his connection was with the
14     Eldridge family or what it was that brought him here. He 
15     did say that he was here to investigate that 
16     investigation. 
17      Q.            Did you know Mr. Davidian prior to 
18     this? 
19      A.            Not at all. I think he lived in Maine 
20     or somewhere and just traveled here. 
21      Q.            Did Mr. Davidian have any ties to the 
22     local area that you're aware of? 
23      A.            I didn't know of any. 
24      Q.            Did he express anything else about his 
25     interest in pursuing an investigation about the death,

Page 10 

1      circumstances of the death of Darlene Eldridqe? 
2      A.            No. It's like he made some mention of 
3      the death of Darlene Eldridge, but the subject, the tone 
4      or the thrust of his visit pretty quickly turned to 
5      himself and his own pursuit of this traffic ticket thing. 
6      Q.            All right. Did he subpoena you in that 
7      traffic ticket case? 
8      A.            At some point that traffic ticket case 
9      made it to the Circuit Court. And he subpoenaed me to 
10     come to a local motel to a discovery deposition out of 
11     that case. 
12         And in that subpoena, if my recollection is correct, 
13     he asked that I bring all of the records, paperwork, 
14     documents that my office had concerning the investigation 
15     of the death of Darlene Eldridge to this deposition 
16     concerning his traffic ticket. 
17      Q.            Now, would a subpoena of that breadth 
18     about an ongoing investigation, would that cause you as 
19     district attorney any concern? 
20      A.            It certainly would cause any district 
21     attorney concern. And what I did in that case is I 
22     called the state attorney general's office, our legal 
23     counsel for state agencies, and I asked them what I 
24     should do in that situation. 
25         They were immediately concerned since it did involve

Page 11

1      an ongoing investigation and the effort in an unrelated
2      case to get into this open investigative file. They said
3      that they were going to send a representative up here to 
4      represent me in the issue of the subpoena. 
5     Which they did. A lawyer came from the attorney 
6      general's office and appeared and the court did quash 
7      that subpoena. Or did away with the subpoena. Said in 
8      this case that there was no necessity in me coming and 
9      bringing those records for a deposition. 
10      Q.            Now, prior to that time... are you 
11     familiar with Mr. Davidian's publication of the Putnam 
12     Pit? 
13      A.            I am very familiar with the Putnam Pit. 
14      Q.            Okay. Prior to the subpoena quash 
15     where you were subpoenaed and the state attorney 
16     general's office successfully resisted your appearing as 
17     a witness in the traffic ticket case, had Mr. Davidian 
18     written anything about you or your office that you know 
19     of? 
20      A.            The time frames, and it's been several 
21     years ago, and in the very early stages of Mr. Davidian's 
22     visits to Cookeville, he began publishing information 
23     about my office and about this investigation. As far as
24     when that information or when those publications came in 
25     regard to that subpoena, I'm not certain. 
Page 12
1      Q.            All right. Do you recall ever seeing
2      anything published in the Cookeville... Let me ask you
3      would you be aware of an article accusing you, for 
4      example, of Cocaine use or conspiring to interfere with a 
5      murder investigation? Something that came out in the 
6      local community, would you be aware of something like 
7      that? 
8      A.            I'm very much aware of those things. 
9      Mr. Davidian has consistently through his publication 
10     suggested Cocaine use. Articles that say "Confidential 
11     sources say that the district attorney has a Cocaine... 
12     uses Cocaine" or people saying they've used Cocaine with 
13     the district attorney. 
14         At one point in time, Mr. Davidian was in my office 
15     and he said, "Well, let me just ask you something. Have 
16     you ever used Cocaine?" And I said, "No", which is the
17     truth. I had not.
18         And before long, there was a big headline, "District 
19     Attorney Gibson denies Cocaine use", which could be 
20     orchestrated to convey to the general public that it was 
21     true, but I was just denying it. And it was a total spin 
22     on the truth. 
23      Q.            Did articles such as this, were those 
24     published prior to the subpoena quash in the traffic 
25     ticket case or after? 

Page 13 

1      A.            Well, I'm not exactly sure about the
2      dates, but I believe they were before and after.
3      Certainly after and I believe some of those articles came
4      before the subpoena issue. 
5      Q.           What was Mr. Davidian's response as far 
6      as his publication when you through the state attorney 
7      general's office resisted providing access to 
8      Mr. Davidian to your files pursuant to the subpoena that 
9      he issued? 
10   A.           Well, there was implication that the 
11   state had come in to protect this conspiracy. That was 
12   what was implied in his article. That "obviously the 
13   district attorney has dodged the bullet of this subpoena
14   and the truth will remain unheard". 
15   MR. HARRIS:    I'm going to object to this 
16   testimony at this time. There's been no foundation as to 
17   what he... to where these statements are, what articles 
18   he's referring to. And certainly I'm also objecting on 
19   the grounds of best evidence. If he's going to state 
20   what's in these articles, I think the articles need to be 
21   submitted, rather than have him summarize what he thinks 
22   they say. So I would ask that we have some foundation as 
23   to which articles he's referring to. 
24   MR. DUFFY:     Well, the articles will be 
25   exhibits at trial. I'm asking him to testify as to

Page 14

1      his... right now as to his recollection of these
2      articles. 
3      MR. HARRIS:    Then I raise the best evidence
4      rule. 
5      MR. DUFFY;     Fine. 
6      BY MR. DUFFY: 
7       Q.           You may go ahead and finish your 
8      answer, sir. 
9       A.           I just recall the articles made the 
10    implication that there was, you know, again, some big 
11    secret hidden in these files, which there wasn't. 
12     Q.           Let me show you what is dated the 
13    November 12th, 1997 edition of the Putnam Pit and ask you
14    if you are familiar with that first off? 
15     A.           I have seen this, yes. 
16     Q.           All right. And reading from it, since 
17    we can't make it an exhibit right now at this deposition, 
18    why don't you just read that starting with editorial 
19    over. Read the first page of that, where the word 
20    "Editorial" begins and there's a picture of it looks like 
21    Darlene Eldridge. 
22     A.           In large print "Who killed Darlene 
23    Eldridge?", with a question mark. "By Geoff Davidian, 
24    editor of the Putnam Pit. Five years ago on 
25    November 21st, school teacher Darlene Eldridge died of

Page 15

1     the injuries she received when an arsonist torched her
2      State Street home as she slept. The killer has not been
3      prosecuted. City Attorney T. Michael O'Mara billed the
4      city about ten thousand dollars for his work in keeping
5      the files of this killing closed, protecting District
6      Attorney General William E. Gibson from having to testify
7      about possible Cocaine use with the dead woman and other
8      facts that would have brought the killer to justice.
9     Nice work, Mike. You are an example of the finest and
10    brightest, an example of a person who abused the system
11    to keep a killer on the streets. Congratulations on your
12    fine work. Maybe your church will pray for your soul.
13    The Putnam Pit is certain that those who worship with you
14    are as clear in their opinion of your fine work as we are
15    at the Putnam Pit. Mr. O'Mara, our hats are off to you
16    for the lack of shame with which you carry yourself.
17    Remember, you shmoozed your way to the top. Now just
18    steal from the public and help the scum bags. After all,
19    you have to prepare for hell".
20     Q.            Now, let me ask you with respect to the
21    implications, whatever they might be, that an arsonist
22    torched the home of Darlene Eldridge. Was that
23    investigated?
24     A.            That was thoroughly investigated by
25    several agencies. 

Page 16


1      Q.            And what determination was made with
2      respect to whether it was an arson?
3      A.            There were a lot of agencies involved
4     and various determinations. I don't think there was ever 
5     a firm finding that it was the result of an arsonist. 
6      think at one point the fire marshal's office may have 
7      suggested that and then changed their opinion. 
8     I know for a fact that there was never a suspect 
9      developed or a motive. The Cookeville Police Department 
10    did extensive work on it and then as I said earlier, at 
11    the request of the family, the T.B.I. came in to follow 
12    certain leads that the family suggested might be viable 
13    that were overlooked intentionally by the police
14    department. The T.B.I. investigated it. And there has 
15    never been a finding by those agencies that it was an 
16    arson or that it was a murder. 
17     Q.            So with respect to the implication that 
18    the killer has not been prosecuted, was there ever a 
19    suspect identified? 
20     A.            There's never been a suspect 
21    identified. 
22      Q.           And the investigation into that, was 
23    that something done by your office? 
24      A.                No, it was not done by our office. 
25    We're not a primary investigative agency. But it was
Page 17 

1      done by the police department and the T.B.I. and some 
2      other agencies that worked with them. 
3       Q.            Now, with respect to the implications 
4      that the city attorney was protecting you, the district 
5      attorney general, from having to testify about possible 
6      Cocaine use with a dead woman and other facts that would 
7      have brought the killer to justice, first off let me ask 
8      you this question. What do you have to say about 
9      Mr. Davidian's accusations about your possible Cocaine 
10   use with the dead woman? 
11      A.           I've never used Cocaine with anybody. 
12    And I didn't know Ms. Eldridge at any level. I knew she
13    was a school teacher. I can't say that we never met, but
14    certainly before this I couldn't have picked her out of a 
15    crowd or told you who she was. 
16     Q.            And with respect to Mr. Davidian's 
17    implication that your testimony would have revealed facts 
18    that would have brought the killer of Darlene Eldridge to 
19    justice, what say you to that? 
20     A.            There's nothing about that. There's 
21    nothing that I could have testified to or knew that... 
22    If there were a killer of Darlene Eldridge, I would love 
23    nothing more than to see the person arrested and brought 
24    to justice. There's been never anything hid. There's
25    nothing to hide in this case. 

Page 18 


 

1      Mr. Davidian had a traffic ticket case that I didn't 
2      know anything about. Didn't have any information about.
3      And he attempted to use the subpoena power that people 
4      have in that case to bring me to a deposition to discuss 
5      an ongoing or an open file, an open investigation, which 
6      was of great concern to everybody. 
7        Q.           And what do you say to the accusation 
8      that the city attorney worked to... It says, "Billed the 
9      city ten thousand dollars for his work in keeping the 
10    files of the killing closed, protecting District Attorney 
11    General William Gibson". First off, you know Mike 
12    O'Mara, don't you, I guess?
13     A.            I do. 
14     Q.            Did you have any discussion with 
15    Mike O'Mara with respect to your criminal files in your 
16    office as district attorney general about keeping them 
17    closed or protecting you from testifying? 
18      A.           No, no discussion whatsoever. There 
19    was no need to protect me at all. We did feel a need to 
20    not open those files generally to the public scrutiny or 
21    to Mr. Davidian at that point in time for very valid 
22    reasons. Leads were still being pursued and the matter 
23    was still under investigation by the T.B.I. 
24      Q.           Would it be the practice of your office 
25    as district attorney or for that matter of a prosecutor's

Page 19

1      office anywhere to open their files up in response to...
2      their criminal files in their office in response to a 
3      civil subpoena?
4       A.            I can't imagine that that would ever
5      happen outside of a court order to do so, just because of 
6      the fact that it could compromise the investigation. And 
7      in some cases, if that were a precedent, it could 
8      compromise people's lives. 
9       Q.            Did Mr. Davidian's attitude toward you 
10    change when you refused to provide him the information he 
11    sought with respect to Darlene Eldridge? 
12    MR. HARRIS:    I'm going to object to the
13    leading.
14    WITNESS:       Mr. Davidian has always had a
15    very aggressive, combative, antagonistic approach to me 
16    and I don't know that it's ever changed. I think the 
17    first day he came in he had it and if anything, it's 
18    gotten worse over time. Mr. Davidian's approach has been 
19    very accusatory and just very aggressive. 
20     Q.            All right. Has Mr. Davidian ever 
21    accused you of being part of a conspiracy to cause harm 
22    to the Eldridge family, either through the prosecution or 
23    lack thereof of Darlene, or her brother, one Fabian 
24    Eldridge? 
25    MR. HARRIS:    I'm going to object for you to

Page 20

1      establish foundation as to certainly as to when this 
2      occurred and if it's in the Putnam Pit, which particular
3      article. And if it is in an article, I would certainly
4      want that as the best... Also raise the best evidence
5      rule objection.
6       Q.            You may go ahead and answer if you
7      recall the question.
8       A.            Mr. Davidian has promoted the idea, the
9      false idea that I was in some way involved in the death
10    of Darlene Eldridge. That I had used Cocaine with
11    Darlene Eldridge and that I had some motives or some
12    effect in trying to quash the investigation or interfere
13    with the investigation, because eventually it was going
14    to lead back to me. And also in the prosecution of
15    Fabian Eldridge, he has attacked that on numerous
16    occasions.
17    MR. HARRIS:    And again, I move to strike that
18    response for lack of foundation. 
19     Q.            Let me show you what is one of 
20    plaintiff's exhibits, and they have not been numbered at 
21    this time. But do you recognize the "It's Bash Bill 
22    Gibson Time" article from the Putnam Pit? 
23     A.            I do. 
24     Q.            Have you seen that before? 
25     A.            I have seen that.

Page 21


1      Q.            And could you look on page three of 
2      that exhibit, the number of which we will identify later. 
3      First off, is that... do you recognize that as being from 
4      the Putnam Pit web site? 
5       A.            I do. 
6      MR. HARRIS:    I'm sorry. Objection. What is 
7      that? 
8      MR. DUFFY:     This would be page three. 
9      MR. HARRIS:    Just the page three in general? 
10    MR. DUFFY:     Yes. 
11    MR. HARRIS:    Okay. I'm sorry. I thought 
12    you were pointing to something in particular. I didn't 
13    know what you were pointing to. We'll certainly
14    stipulate that's from the Putnam Pit. 
15    MR. DUFFY:     All right. Thank you, 
16    Mr. Harris. 
17    BY MR. DUFFY: 
18     Q.            And what does it say in the upper right 
19    hand corner on Mr. Davidian's web site? 
20     A.            It says, "New!", with an exclamation 
21    point. "He painted the sign. He paid the taxes. The 
22    least D. A. Bill Gibson could do is buy drugs with the 
23    rest of the money like a decent and respectable D. A., 
24    although he denies he used them with murdered school 
25    teacher, Darlene Eldridge". 

Page 22


1      MR. HARRIS:    I'd like you to finish reading
2     the rest of that.
3      WITNESS:       "By lawyer-ex, Putnam Pit
4      gorilla law columnist".
5      BY MR. DUFFY:
6       Q.            Thank you. Were you asked.., or I'm
7      sorry. Do you remember Putnam Pit articles with respect
8      to whether or not your office would investigate or
9      prosecute so called illegal jailer's fees allegedly
10     collected by Circuit Court Clerk Lewis Coomer?
11      A.            Yes, I'm familiar with that.
12      Q.            Can you give the jury some background
13    so they'll know what we're talking about when we talk
14    about the jailer fees collection issue that
15    Mr. Davidian is writing about?
16     A.            Well, at some point several years -- I'm
17    not sure of the exact date a law was passed that allowed
18    local governments to collect a fee from inmates housed in
19    local jails to offset the cost of their housing, so that
20    the inmates in some manner, in some way, could be
21    partially paying their own way and not the government
22    paying for all the expense of housing them.
23    It's Mr. Davidian's contention that at some point
24    the circuit court clerk in Putnam County started
25    collecting those fees either before the effective date of

Page 23

1      the statute or before the law was ratified by the county
2      government. I'm not sure.
3     But it boils down to an accusation that on behalf of 
4      Putnam County, he started collecting these fees ahead of 
5      when he was supposed to by some days or weeks or months. 
6      And that in fact, it should be investigated and 
7      prosecuted for some crime, I suppose. That's what he was 
8      promoting. (Note1) 
9       Q.            All right. Before we continue with 
10    that, let me ask you to go back. Do you remember... Let 
11    me show you again the "It's Bash Bill Gibson Time" 
12    article. And on page two, do you recall the statement on 
13    Mr. Davidian's web site, "The Gibson Legacy. Dead Baby 
14    Capital of Tennessee"? 
15      A.            I do remember that. 
16      Q.            What was it that Mr. Davidian was 
17    stating in the Putnam Pit web site with respect to you 
18    and any relation to dead babies? 
19    MR. HARRIS:    I'm going to issue an objection 
20    here on the best evidence rule, that the article speaks
21    for itself. 
22    WITNESS:       To me Mr. Davidian was implying 
23    in that article or stating in that article that I was 
24    responsible for dead babies in this area by virtue of my 
25    job. 

Page 24

1      MR. DUFFY:          Mr. Harris, would you agree that
2      Mr. Davidian   had on his web site... I can't lay my hand
3      on it right now, but the question "How many dead babies
4      are in Bill Gibson's back yard?"?
5      MR. HARRIS:         We'll stipulate that that's a
6      rough paraphrasing I think of what that article is. In
7     fact, I believe... I thought we had that exhibit out
8      earlier.
9      BY MR. DUFFY:
10     Q.            Do you have any idea what Mr. Davidian
11    is referring to in that accusation in the Putnam Pit?
12    MR. HARRIS:    I am going to object on the best
13    evidence rule and also foundation as to whether.., to
14    establish whether or not Mr. Davidian wrote that article.
15    MR. DUFFY:     You will stipulate it was on its 
16    web site, won't you? 
17    MR. HARRIS:    Yes. 
18    MR. DUFFY:     Okay. 
19    BY MR. DUFFY: 
20     Q.            "How many dead babies in D. A. Gibson's 
21    back yard, by C.D. Sunny Boy Norman". Do you have any 
22    idea what this accusation is about babies, dead babies in 
23    your back yard on the Putnam Pit web site? 
24     A.            As best I recall that article, it had 
25    something to do with Methamphetamine.

Page 25

1    MR. HARRIS:    And before I had to sit back
2    down to get that, but objection to best evidence as to
3    the article speaks for itself.
4    WITNESS:       The article, I mean, it
5    certainly says and implies that there's dead babies in my 
6    back yard. And if you want to look deeper into it, that 
7    I'm responsible for the death of babies in this area in 
8    some way. And it was a very troubling article, a very 
9    troublesome thing for me to read that. 
10    Q.            Is there any truth to that accusation 
11   or innuendos therefrom? 
12    A.            No. 
13    Q.            All right. Now, going back to Circuit
14   Court Coomer, these jailer fees, were those fees that a 
15   prisoner who was convicted of an offense and served jail 
16   time, as a consequence thereof was to reimburse the 
17   county for the expenses of, you know, holding him in 
18   jail? 
19    A.            They were. 
20    Q.            And was a state statute passed that 
21   enabled the circuit court clerks of the various counties 
22   to seek reimbursement from the prisoners for those fees? 
23    A.            There was. The idea being to let the 
24   inmates pay part of their own housing and not let the tax 
25   payers bear the total cost. 

Page 26

1     Q.            All right. Let me show you this
2    article that's also from the November 14, 1997 Pit and
3    ask you to read the headline on that. Do you have a copy 
4    of the article, the full article? He'll read it. 
5    MR. HARRIS:    Okay. I'm not sure which 
6    article. You didn't show that to me. I'm not sure which 
7    article you're referring to. 
8    MR. DUFFY:     I will say this is from the 
9    C. D., I believe. And it was one of those things where 
10   if you clicked on it, it tried to take you to the 
11   internet. So I don't have the full copy. Yeah, this one 
12   here. 
13   MR. HARRIS:    I'm sorry. Which article? You
14   said... Oh, C. D. You mean the C. D. Rom and not C. D.
15   Norman? 
16   MR. DUFFY:     Right. 
17   MR. HARRIS:    The article by Susan Richards 
18   and Geoff Davidian? Is that what you're referring to? 
19   MR. DUFFY:     Right. 
20   BY MR. DUFFY: 
21    Q.            And unfortunately, I'm going to need to 
22   ask you just to read that paragraph. Or I can read it or 
23   something. 
24    A.            "T.B.I., D. A. Gibson won't investigate 
25   illegal jailer's fee collection by Court Clerk Lewis

Page 27

1    Coomer. By Susan Richards and Geoff Davidian of the 
2    Putnam Pit Staff. While going hog wild to destroy 
3    politically unpopular, seldom at work, faux-pas prone 
4    County Assessor of Taxes Byron Looper, who is not accused 
5    of any criminal activity, the Tennessee Bureau of 
6    Investigation and the district attorney general will not 
7    investigate illegal charging of jailer's fees by Circuit 
8    Court Clerk Lewis Coomer. District Attorney General Bill 
9    Gibson, clearly not the brightest man in the country, 
10   refuses to receive the evidence, local judges refuse to 
11   get involved and the state comptroller's division of 
12   county audit has not addressed the possibility that the
13   money was diverted. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's
14   number two man, Rob Reeves, became huffy, shouted 'gutter
15   journalism' and slammed down the phone when confronted
16   with the fact that the system does not address officials
17   taking money".
18    Q.            Now, what do you say to the jury with
19   respect to Mr. Davidian's reporting that the district
20   attorney general... Well, first off let me ask you was
21   there any "illegal jailer's fee" collection by Circuit
22   Court Clerk Lewis Coomer as you understood it?
23    A.            No, my understanding was that
24   Mr. Coomer was collecting the fees under this new statute
25   and putting them through the proper channels in his

Page 28

1    office. And Mr. Davidian's allegation was that he
2    started collecting, he jumped the gun or he started
3    collecting these fees before the effective date of the
4    statute or before the date when he should have started
5    collecting these fees.
6        And I've always said that, you know, if people paid
7    these fees before the law came into effect, they may have
8    a right to seek a refund. There's no implication that
9    Mr. Coomer stole any of the money or took any of the
10   money home.
11       It's just that he through inadvertence or whatever
12   started actually performing this duty before the
13   effective date that the law would have allowed him to.
14   We've never heard from any inmate who felt like he had
15   been taxed or paid the fees and should have a refund.
16       And in the context of Mr. Davidian, we felt like he
17   was just particularly on a vendetta pursuit of the
18   circuit court clerk.
19     Q. And were you ever.., do you remember
20   seeing the Putnam Pit article purporting to have an
21   exclusive interview from you with respect to the issue of
22   prosecution of Circuit Court Clerk Lewis Coomer?
23    A. I did see that article.
24     Q. Was there any... Stepping back to this
25   article, is there any truth to the statement that "the Page

Page 29

1    district attorney general will not investigate illegal
2    charging of jailer fees by Circuit Court Clerk Lewis 
3    Coomer"?
4     A.            There is truth to the statement that we
5    refused to investigate that situation. 
6     Q.            Was there any illegal charge in the 
7    jailer's fees to investigate? 
8     A.            There was not. According to his own 
9    allegations, it would not have been a criminal matter had 
10   Mr. Coomer started collecting these fees prior to the 
11   effective date. As I said before, you know, if people 
12   inappropriately paid those fees before the law took 
13   effect, then they could have asked for a refund. But 
14   there was not any suggestion of what would have amounted 
15   to criminal behavior on Mr. Coomer's part had the 
16   allegation been true. 
17    Q.            Is the circuit court clerk's office 
18   audited by the State of Tennessee comptroller's office? 
19    A.            The circuit court clerk's, as all 
20   county offices, are very closely audited. Their books 
21   and their money transactions are closely audited. 
22    Q.            Were you ever presented with any 
23   evidence or requests for a prosecution of Circuit Court
24   Clerk--it's hard to say fast--Coomer's office with 
25   respect to these jailer's fees from the auditors? 

Page 30


 

1     A.            No. There was never any suggestion
2    that the auditors found anything wrong there.
3     Q.            Now, there is a discussion in that
4    article about "Going hog wild to destroy politically 
5    unpopular" et cetera "County Assessor of Taxes Byron 
6    Looper". 
7     A.            Uh-huh (affirmative response). 
8     Q.            For those on the jury who.., if anyone 
9    might not know, tell them who Byron Looper is and where 
10   he's at today. 
11    A.            Well, Byron Looper at this time was the 
12   property assessor of Putnam County. He later was subject 
13   to a criminal indictment by the Putnam County Grand Jury 
14   for offenses that he committed in relation with that 
15   office. 
16       But the significant thing that people would remember 
17   about Byron Looper is he is the man that later qualified 
18   to run against State Senator Tommy Burks and assassinated 
19   Senator Burks on his farm in October of 1998. And has 
20   now been tried and convicted of that and he's serving a 
21   life sentence without possibility of parole in the State 
22   Department of Corrections. 
23     Q.           I've just been handed a note that I 
24   forgot to ask you the follow-up on the exclusive 
25   interview with District Attorney General William E.

Page 31

1    Gibson. Do you recognize that?
2    MR. HARRIS:    Could I see what you're showing
3    the witness before you show the witness, Mr. Duffy?
4    MR. DUFFY:     Sure. I'm sorry, Mr. Harris.
5    Once again, that is just what was on the C.D. Rom that
6    you provided. And if you try to click on the underlying
7    link, it tries to take you to the internet and it's not
8    contained on the C.D. Rom discovery responses that your
9    client has provided.
10   MR. HARRIS:    Well, as you know, what's on the
11   C.D. Rom, you asked for what we still have in storage and
12   that's all we have. Some of these articles are old. So
13   if you're going to make these speeches, which I object
14   to, I'd move to strike these speeches.
15   BY MR. DUFFY:
16     Q.           Is that the article to which you were
17   referring?
18     A.           It is.
19     Q.           Or the headline?
20     A.           It's called "Exclusive interview with
21   District Attorney General William E. Gibson about the
22   Lewis Coomer thefts".
23     Q.           Is that headline and the reporting that
24   is set forth therein accurate?
25    A.            No. Not at all. 

Page 32 

1     Q.            What happened? What is he referring to 
2    there? 
3     A.            Well, it was one May on a Saturday. We 
4    were having a car wash and we were using the parking lot 
5    of the D. A.'s office to raise some money for Camp 
6    Horizon, a program for special education children to get 
7    to attend. And special education teachers were washing 
8    cars basically to raise money for these kids to go to 
9    camp in July. 
10       Mr. Davidian comes flying into the parking lot and 
11   pulls up and stops and rolls down his window and says, 
12   makes some derogatory comment about something. I'm just 
13   out here trying to garner political favor or something. 
14   And starts to drive of f. 
15        Speeds off kind of and then he stops abruptly and 
16   backs up and he says something to the effect of, "Hey, 
17   why won't you investigate Coomer?" And I made some 
18   comment back to him about "Because there's nothing to 
19   investigate. There's not a crime" or something. And he 
20   rolls the window back up and takes off. 
21        And he had under this headline the substance of that 
22   two sentence conversation on the web page, implying that 
23   it was an exclusive interview with me concerning the 
24   Lewis Coomer thef