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Judge rules prosecutor may stay on case

The defense accused the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office of bias against the defendant.

TAMPA - A circuit judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors from the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office can continue to handle the case against Patricia Banks, who is accused of attempting to kill her former girlfriend.

Banks' lawyer wanted the State Attorney's Office disqualified from the case. She accused the prosecutors of acting under pressure from lawyers close to the victim, Olga J. Joanow, and also suggested that the prosecutors were treating Banks more harshly because she is gay.

Circuit Judge Anthony Black ruled that the prosecutors' offer of a plea deal that included a 25-year sentence was "reflective of the State's opinion of the strength of its case and is not reflective of prejudice toward the Defendant."

"It's very good news for us," said Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober. "I felt from the very inception of this motion that it was ludicrous."

Lyann Goudie, Banks' attorney, had a similar reaction to how the prosecutors have handled the case.

"We have reached a point that in my opinion is kind of absurd," Goudie said. "It can't get any worse, unless they (ask our elected officials) to adopt the death penalty for attempted murder cases."

Banks is accused of shooting her former lover, Joanow, and leaving her by the side of the road on Adamo Drive. Joanow is a lawyer for the University of South Florida.

The controversy erupted after Goudie wrote a letter to Hillsborough prosecutors on March 12 complaining that the sentence the state offered was harsher than in other comparable cases.

She suggested prosecutors were acting under pressure from a former Hillsborough prosecutor who had worked with the victim at USF.

They also allowed the victim to play too big a role in the negotiations for a plea bargain, she stated.

In his ruling, Black said Ober's office mishandled parts of the case but nothing that called for disqualification.

Now that the judge has ruled, Ober said it was time to get the case moving toward trial, which is scheduled for Nov. 3.

- Graham Brink can be reached at 813 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com