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The San Angelo Standard-Times
"Your complete source for information in West Texas"10/19/00
Doctor not guilty of felony charges
West Texas man involved in federal case with gun rights implications; state prosecutors appeal
By BEN MONTGOMERY
Staff WriterA West Texas doctor who made national headlines because of a federal case with gun rights implications was cleared of state charges on Wednesday.
Dr. Tim Emerson was found not guilty of endangerment of a child and aggravated assault in State District Court by a Tom Green County jury made up of nine women and two men.
The two state felony charges were in addition to federal charges of possessing a firearm while under a restraining order in 1998.
The federal charges were thrown out by a trial judge, who cited in part that Emerson' Second Amendment rights were violated. It was federal court action that received attention from the National Rifle Association, law-enforcement officers, media and lawyer organizations.
Some legal scholars and historians even predicted the losing side would push Emerson's case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Following the case's dismissal, prosecutors appealed the case to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Both the state and federal charges resulted from a conflict between Emerson and his ex-wife Sacha McSpadden.
In 1998, McSpadden filed for divorce. She alleged that Emerson had threatened her boyfriend and State District Judge John Sutton granted a temporary restraining order.
The judge had failed to warn Emerson, however, of a 1994 federal law that made gun possession illegal under a restraining order. Emerson had represented himself in the case, so no lawyer made him aware of the law that is intended to protect spouses during pending divorces.
According to Standard-Times reports, in November 1998, McSpadden showed up at the doctor's medical office at 14 South Jefferson Street with the couple's 4-year-old daughter.
Emerson said McSpadden barged into his office and would not leave when he asked. He then pulled a Beretta pistol out of a desk drawer and laid it on the desk.
According to Emerson, McSpadden insisted on going down the hallway to retrieve the daughter's shoes and socks. According to an affidavit, Emerson said he again warned McSpadden about trespassing and held the gun in the air, cocked it, then lowered it to his side.
Emerson said he brought the weapon to work because of threats from a patient he suspected of abusing pain medication.
During the trial, McSpadden, who has since remarried and lives in Sterling City, claimed Emerson aimed the gun at her and her daughter, hence the charges of aggravated assault and endangering a child.
Prosecutors argued that the case was one of domestic violence and that Emerson put McSpadden and his daughter in danger of their lives when he drew the weapon.
"It is time to send a message that there is no excuse for this kind of domestic violence," District Attorney Steve Lupton told jurors in closing arguments.
Defense attorneys said McSpadden and an accomplice planned to ruin the doctor's medical practice. They added that it is the law in the state of Texas that a person can defend his property.
The jury deliberated for just more than an hour before acquitting Emerson of both charges.
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Contact Ben Montgomery at bmontgomery@texaswest.com or 915-659-8263.
San Angelo Standard-Times
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