Tripp judge and media age
Expert: Diane O. Leasure, presiding in the high-profile Howard
County case, is using a consultant to help in dealing with the press.
_________________________________________________
By Del Quentin Wilber
Sun Staff
As lawyers prepare to
argue another set of
motions today in the
criminal case against
Linda R. Tripp, they will
be treading on worn
legal ground.
Yet, behind the scenes,
the Howard County
Circuit judge overseeing
the case has quietly
taken some inventive
approaches to dealing
with a high-profile trial in the media age. Judge Diane O. Leasure is
consulting with a public relations specialist, providing thick packets
of
information to reporters and posting her rulings and other filings on
the Internet.
"It's very imaginative," said Charles E. Moylan Jr., a judge on the
state Court of Special Appeals. "I can recall no other instance of an
actual media consultant."
Referring to the Internet postings, Moylan said, "That is probably the
smart thing to do to get into the 21st century."
From the beginning, Leasure was worried about the news media
getting out of control, especially in light of the O. J. Simpson trial.
Enter Harry Bosk.
In November, Bosk started a public relations company, after
working for a year as a spokesman at the University of Maryland,
Baltimore.
Through a friend, he heard that Leasure might need help.
Leasure and Bosk met, but the judge had some bad news: She
couldn't pay him.
"She said she didn't want any court funds spent
on this," Bosk said. "She said they were looking
for somebody to do this pro bono."
Bosk agreed to help, as long as he could use the
case to get more clients. So far, he has reviewed
news releases and helped Howard Circuit Court
Administrator John Shatto decide what to put in
media packets.
"I made a few suggestions," Bosk said.
Shatto said the court has spent "several hundred dollars" on the Tripp
case, mostly in making photocopies for press packets and the plastic
courtroom passes reporters are required to wear.
The media packets don't resemble those dispensed during
high-priced advertising campaigns.
Instead, Shatto and Leasure focused on the basics: a blue folder,
stuffed with motions, fact sheets, contact information, index cards for
reporters to submit written questions to Leasure and a brochure,
"Visitors Guide for Howard County."
Officials were able to cut costs on some copies, Shatto said, because
they have been posting filings on the Internet
(www.courts.state.md.us), which is state-run and free.
The Web site also displays a brief biography of Leasure. "Judge
Diane O. Leasure is 47 years old and married. She and her husband
are parents of a fourteen year old son."
The site also apparently is meant to help television and radio
reporters: Leasure is pronounced (Lay-sure), it says.
Leasure and Shatto also established a telephone update line,
410-313-3053, for those who don't have computers.
"Access to the court by the public and media is part of our mission,"
Shatto said.
While reaching out to reporters and the public, Leasure also has
restricted their presence at the courthouse, forbidding reporters from
conducting interviews in courtroom hallways and warning the public
about "any item on their person or exhibit any sign which, in the
opinion of the Court, may tend to influence any juror or affect the
orderly administration of justice."
Tripp was indicted in July on two counts of violating Maryland's
wiretapping law for tape-recording a telephone conversation Dec.
22, 1997, with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and
then having her lawyer disclose the contents of that recording to
Newsweek magazine.
The disclosure of the tape and many others Tripp made revealed a
sexual relationship between Lewinsky and President Clinton, who
was impeached in December 1998.
If convicted, Tripp could receive 10 years in prison and a $20,000
fine. Her trial is scheduled for July.
Today, Tripp's lawyers will be asking Leasure to toss out the
indictment, saying the evidence gathered by state prosecutors was
tainted by immunized testimony Tripp gave to federal authorities
investigating Clinton.
State prosecutors have conceded that some of their evidence was
tainted, but say the vast majority was gathered without Tripp's
protected information. They are asking Leasure to let the case
proceed to trial.
The lawyers battled it out at a November hearing, then another in
December that lasted a week when state prosecutors produced
witnesses, including Lewinsky, to prove their case was not tainted.
As those hearings progressed, the press contingent grew, with a
dozen television satellite trucks in the courthouse parking lot in
Ellicott City.
More than 70 reporters, from national broadcast outlets to national
magazines and local weekly newspapers, requested credentials to
cover the proceedings, and Courtroom 1 was packed as Lewinsky
took the stand.
Most courtroom observers are not expecting a crush of reporters
and onlookers today for the motions hearing, which will center
mostly on legal issues.
Tripp's lawyers have said their client likely will not show up, and no
high-profile witnesses are expected to testify. Leasure is not
expected to rule today.
Originally published on Mar 29 2000