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# No defense for library
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/no-defense-for-library/
- Published: 2002-09-30T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:45:49.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Crime, Venice, #archive-import

Charges of seditious libel, conspiracy and slander were brought against the Santa Monica Public Library last week by a Venice man, who also treated the court to some unusual testimony.

Plaintiff William Thornton, whose lawsuit had been continued previously to allow him to file requisite paperwork, testified he was hospitalized earlier this year with extensive psychological damage.

“Dude, so you want the story?” Thornton asked Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Robert Shutan. “I walked into the library and an employee told me volatile, sensitive micro-information about a unique religious ritual I perform.”

The judge then asked about the ritual, and Thornton laid it all on the line.

Judge Shutan interrupted Thornton, who was seeking $2,500 in damages. “In the library reading room?” he asked. “No,” Thornton quickly replied. “In the privacy of my room.” Thornton expressed dismay over the library employee’s seeming familiarity with his unique ritual.

> “It’s a real sensitive part of my religious practice.” — Thornton said

> “It’s a ceremony that involves cleaning my genitals,”

“I have no idea how he got that info,” Thornton said. “He knew personal details, even some of the implements that I use. It’s like he was watching me at my home.”

But Judge Shutan didn’t buy it. He ruled in favor of the library without hearing their defense.

“There’s no documentation and no witnesses,” the judge told Thornton. “I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Thornton has filed similar lawsuits against Santa Monica Community College and the Los Angeles Public Library.

“Maybe there’s some individual that ties these things together,” Thornton said, who thanked the judge for hearing the case. “It’s OK. I will take this further, to the federal government. I have people in the federal government.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 30, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/093002.pdf?ref=smdp.com)