Jury: White Defamed Bish; Invaded His Privacy

After more than two hours of deliberations, a jury said state Rep. Jesse White both defamed a Robinson Township man and invaded his privacy—but it did not grant any monetary award for damages.

"I'm just glad it went the way it did," Ray Bish, who also is a county Democratic committeeman, said of the judgment in his favor. "The money didn't bother me—it was principle."

His attorney, Charles Kurowski, agreed, saying: "I'm glad we were victorious. We proved the guy goes out there and defames people."

White, D-Cecil, was sued by Bish for defamation. Bish claims in the suit that White defamed him in a 2008 blog entry in which he said he was accused of assault and littering.

Minutes after the verdict was read, White said that while he is "pleased" that the jury "agreed there were no damages to Mr. Bish," he thought it was a "shame" that four days of the court's time was consumed with the case.

"I think the lack of damages speaks for itself," he said. "Just because I'm a public official, it doesn't mean I don't have a right to defend my family. I'm just glad the whole thing is behind me so I can continue working for the people of the 46th District."

White declined to comment, though, on a hearing scheduled for 1 p.m. before Judge Katherine Emery for contempt.

"I will withhold comment until after the hearing," he said.

But Kurowski had plenty to say.

"I was working on my closing argument around 2:30 in the morning when I got (on Facebook)," he said.

Kurowski pulled out a printout of a comment he made early Monday on the Southpointe Kickoff of Marellus Shale Chamber Breakfast Meeting's Facebook wall. The comment regarded his reservation to the breakfast, which is Friday morning.

Underneath are two comments from White. They state:

"Will that be listed under 'Charles Kurowski,' or 'Charles Sinclair?' It's so confusing considering that you had your name legally changed during law school. I would ask how people will know not to vote for you on May 17, but since they've been smart enough not to elect you any of the numerous times you have run for other offices, I suppose it's not much of a concern."

Then White left another comment. This one stated:

"Will you pay for your ticket out of the $800 you tried to avoid paying the Washington Women's Shelter, forcing them to sue you to get a judgment in court?"

Kurowski, who is candidate for Washington County Court of Common Pleas judge, said he made a motion in court for the contempt hearing because he contends the comments violated a issued Monday for the duration of the trial.

He said White was referring to a name change he made in law school 35 years ago—a move he said he made because he was rejected from several universities.

As for the second comment, Kurowski said the shelter had done damage to one of his properties and that the matter went into arbitration—and that the security deposit was eventually paid back.

The comments were no longer on the Facebook page Thursday afternoon.

The defamation civil suit against White began Tuesday morning in Washington County Court.

White again took the witness stand Tuesday and Wednesday morning, when Kurowski questioned him for more than an hour, this time about a blog he wrote about one-time political opponent Frank Yuvan III.

Kurowski read several portions of the blog post titled, "The epic take of how my opponent and his loyal Dungeon Master ruined a perfectly good blog post by casting a hypocrisy spell" and asked White what he meant by it.

"It was designed to be a joke," the lawmaker said.

To that, Kurowski read specific sections in which White wrote that Yuvan "(sells) satanic comic books to children" and calling the one-time Republican state House candidate a "master debater."

"Is that a little play on words?" he asked White.

"Anyone who knows (me) knows I have a sense of humor," White responded.

"Calling someone a masturbator?" Kurowski countered.

"I did not say that," White retorted.

The testimony—which ranged from talk about personal attacks White said were lodged against him in the Weekly Recorder Newspaper and by its owner Cody Knotts to a civil suit the lawmaker filed against the publisher seven years ago—ended after several objections and trips up to speak with the judge.

When White was cross-examined by his attorney, Ed Schenck. the legislator spoke about how he witnessed Bish become "agitated" upon seeing him at a county Democratic Committee function where he reportedly started a phyical confrontation that ended in the streets of Washington.

After that testimony was completed, both sides rested and a brief recess was called. During that break, Kurowski stormed into the courtroom with his cell phone to his ear, telling a member of Judge Katherine Emery's staff that he had a rebuttal witness that could prove "all that was a lie."

What followed was rebuttal testimony from Bish, who said testimony given by several of White's family members on Tuesday was incorrect.

Asked if he "wagged" a finger at or came close to the legislator's cousin, sister, mother, stepfather and grandfather, Bish shook his head and answered no.