By Ashley Sanders

The News staff writer

Precinct 8 Justice of the Peace Tom Gillam III is no stranger to court practices.

But the Port Arthur JP will be seeing a different side of the bench on April 23, as he makes an appearance as the plaintiff in a case filed against a local blogger.

Gillam filed a legal case Wednesday morning in the 58th District Court against Philip Klein, said Brent Coon, one of Gillam’s two legal representatives.

“Philip Klein recently stated on the website ‘Southeast Texas Political Review 2007’ (www.setpoliticalreview.com) that Gillam recently engaged in an inappropriate sexual act with a woman at the (Port Arthur) courthouse,” a statement released Wednesday by Coon and Beaumont attorney Gerald W. Eddins on Gillam’s behalf, read.

“Klein further stated in the same article that an employee walked in on Judge Gillam during the alleged act, became upset and left the courthouse in a manner that caused a glass door to break. This story is patently false, malicious and defamatory.”

Coon said Gillam is seeking unspecified damages from Klein and Klein Investments, Inc. of Nederland for the “damage done to his reputation and good name of his family.”

A separate petition was also filed on Wednesday to obtain a temporary restraining order to preserve recordings of radio programs hosted by Klein and another KOLE radio host, Ronnie Linden.

“This is an attempt to preserve evidence,” Coon explained. “We are also wanting to secure courthouse surveillance video and audio tapes to prove that Klein’s statements are false.”

The temporary restraining order is intended to keep all records in a secure location where they can not be tampered with or destroyed either intentionally or inadvertently, Coon said.

In response to the legal recourse, Klein wrote on his website that he and Linden will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Thursday, at the KOLE radio station in Beaumont to address the particulars of the lawsuit.

Additionally, Klein released a statement about his involvement in the blog about Gillam which he states he wrote three weeks ago.

“Late this afternoon, a very nervous process server, served upon both myself as an individual and Klein Investments, Inc., the parent company to the Southeast Texas Political Review, a lawsuit and temporary restraining order,” Klein said. “As we have shown in the past, the Southeast Texas Political Review has every intention of aggressively defending itself and considering other actions as we have shown in the past which was demonstrated in the Port Arthur ISD v. Klein Investments, Inc., case which wrote case law regarding the same issues.”

Klein said he will be vindicated in this case based on his first amendment right as a U.S. citizen.