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BURBANK (CNS) - A judge Friday granted the prosecution's request to retry former UCLA campus gynecologist James Mason Heaps on nine remaining sex- related charges on which jurors deadlocked last year involving former patients.
Superior Court Judge Michael D. Carter denied a defense motion to dismiss the deadlocked counts against Heaps.
"So, when I look at this as a whole, I believe that all sides have a right to the finality of this case, and the only way that we're going to reach the finality is to have the jury review the counts that were hung and to retry those counts," the judge said.
Heaps is due back at the Burbank courthouse Nov. 13 for a hearing on an expected defense motion to delay his trial.
"We've now got to hire additional counsel," said Heaps' attorney, Tracy Green, who did not represent him during his first trial.
Heaps was sentenced in April to 11 years in state prison after being convicted in October 2022 of charges involving two women. He has remained behind bars since being taken into custody after the verdict, and appeared in court in orange jail clothes during Friday's hearing.
Green -- who objected to the deadlocked counts being retried -- told the judge there was no reason to believe that another jury would reach a verdict on those charges.
Heaps' attorney suggested the court could dismiss the counts without prejudice so the prosecution could bring those charges again if Heaps is successful in his pending appeal involving the counts on which he was convicted.
Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers cited the "serious nature of the case" and told the judge "the victims have a right to justice."
The prosecutor said she didn't want another "Tyndall situation here," referring to the case against former USC campus gynecologist George Tyndall, who died last month at age 76 while awaiting trial on charges stemming from alleged sexual misconduct with 16 patients.
Outside court, Heaps' attorney questioned why it took prosecutors until August to announce that they wanted to retry the counts on which jurors hung.
"I think part of this is political," Green told reporters. "What does the L.A. D.A.'s office do when someone accuses them of being soft on crime? Why wait -- what a year -- after the jury verdict and then say we're going to retry and then try to jam the defense? They could have announced it three weeks after the sentencing. They chose not to."
She noted that there could be yet another retrial if a state appeals court panel were to eventually reverse her client's October 2022 conviction.
Green said her client could face additional time in custody if he winds up being convicted on the deadlocked counts.
"It would add on a number of years, but maybe not more than five," she said.
Darren Kavinoky, an attorney representing three of the alleged victims in the case, told reporters outside court, "We're certainly gratified with the court's ruling."
"I think it's important to everyone involved, as the judge pointed out, that there be some real finality, and we know that our clients, all of them, each of them, really wants that for this case, so we're certainly pleased that this matter is going to go forward and be tried again," he said.
Heaps was found guilty of three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person. Jurors acquitted him of charges involving two other patients, and deadlocked on the other nine counts that involve four alleged victims, including one of the women named in a count on which he was convicted.
The prosecutor told the judge in August that the office's chief deputy advised her that the prosecution would be going forward with a retrial if the court agreed.
Just before sentencing Heaps to the 11-year state prison term in April, the judge noted that he had received at least 75 character letters on the defendant's behalf, and said that Heaps was "by all accounts a world- renowned gynecologist specializing in oncology." He said the letters sent on behalf of Heaps were filled with stories about him saving the lives of his patients.
"But this reputation also serves as an aggravating factor because it caused the victims in this case to entrust their bodies and lives to him," the judge said. "It was because of this reputation that he was able to take advantage of the vulnerable position that these victims were in."
The judge subsequently rejected the defense's bid to release Heaps on bail while he appeals his conviction. The judge said at a hearing in May that he found "by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant is a flight risk."
Heaps was indicted in May 2021 on charges involving the seven female patients. He surrendered his medical license in March.
Heaps -- who was ordered in 2019 to "cease and desist from the practice of medicine as a condition of bail" after he was first charged that year -- served as a gynecologist/oncologist, affiliated with UCLA, for nearly 35 years. At various times, he saw patients at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and at his office at 100 Medical Plaza.
At one time, he was reportedly the highest paid physician in the UC system and had treated about 6,000 patients, attorneys said.
More than 500 lawsuits were filed against Heaps and UCLA, accusing the school of failing to protect patients after becoming aware of the misconduct.
In May 2022, attorneys for 312 former patients of Heaps announced a $374 million settlement of abuse lawsuits against the University of California.
The settlement came on top of a $243.6 million resolution of lawsuits involving about 200 patients announced in February 2022, and a $73 million settlement of federal lawsuits previously reached involving roughly 5,500 plaintiffs.
The lawsuits alleged that UCLA actively and deliberately concealed Heaps' sexual abuse of patients. UCLA continued to allow Heaps to have unfettered sexual access to female patients -- many of whom were cancer patients -- at the university, plaintiffs' attorneys alleged in the lawsuits.
UCLA issued a statement last year saying, "This agreement, combined with earlier settlements involving other plaintiffs, resolves the vast majority of the claims alleging sexual misconduct by James Heaps, a former UCLA Health physician.
"The conduct alleged to have been committed by Heaps is reprehensible and contrary to our values. We are grateful to all those who came forward, and hope this settlement is one step toward providing some level of healing for the plaintiffs involved.
"We are dedicated to providing the highest quality care that respects the dignity of every patient. We are taking all necessary steps to ensure our patients' well-being in order to maintain the public's confidence and trust," the statement continued.