Trial pits cruelty vs. free speech

Prosecutors say what was done to a boar was torture; defense attorneys say it is no different than what happens in the woods.

By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 23, 2002

TAMPA -- When lawyers for Bubba the Love Sponge Clem begin searching Monday for the six people they hope will acquit him of animal cruelty, they will ask prospective jurors about everything from their eating habits to their taste in radio shock jocks.

Consider these items from the defense's suggested 50-item jury questionnaire:

Do you buy dolphin-safe tuna? Visit the pound? Donate to animal-rights groups? What's your favorite animal of all time, from a book or movie?

But the case of Florida vs. Clem may ultimately turn on this question: How much did a wild boar named Andy suffer in the moments before it died last February in the WXTB-97.9 FM parking lot?

Clem, along with a producer and two listeners, faces felony animal cruelty charges for the incident, in which the hog was prodded, castrated and slaughtered during a broadcast. Their lawyers failed Friday to scuttle the case.

Prosecutor Darrell D. Dirks argued that the hog should have been mercifully stunned before it was slaughtered. He said it suffered "unnecessary pain and torture . . . for the listening pleasure of the audience."

Defense lawyers argued there was little difference between the hog's demise and what happens on many hunting shows. Hunters routinely castrate hogs before slaughter in the belief that it keeps the meat untainted, they said. And Andy suffered less than animals who are shot with a bow and arrow.

Clem's lawyers said the case also raises questions about free speech. The only reason their client is in trouble, they said, is because the slaughter was broadcast.

"What is not a crime in the woods cannot become a crime in the 4000 block of Gandy Boulevard," said lawyer Norman Cannella Sr.

But Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta denied the defense motions, clearing the way for the trial. Jury selection could take most of the day Monday and is expected to be the longest single part of the trial.

On trial are Clem; radio producer Brent Hatley; Paul Lauterberg, the listener who brought the boar to the station and performed the castration and slaughter; and Daniel Brooks, a listener who helped hold the boar.

While the hog was killed, Clem played recorded pig-squeals that some outraged listeners initially believed came from the tortured pig itself.

The case already has seen its share of odd twists.

A judge recused herself last year after Clem's lawyers accused her of an attachment to pig-trinkets that might cloud her judgment. For weeks, Clem has conducted a protracted on-air rant against Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober, claiming the prosecutor is railroading him.

Clem has asked listeners to assemble on the courthouse steps to show their support.

He could face five years in prison.

-- Christopher Goffard can be reached at 226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com.

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