Constitutional Law

Broncos' Cox waives hearing after judge rules it should be public

By By The Associated Press

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Details of sexual-assault allegations against Denver Broncos cornerback Perrish Cox will remain secret, for now.

Cox attorney Harvey A. Steinberg waived his client's right to a preliminary hearing, where investigators present evidence in court, after a judge ruled yesterday that it should be public. Steinberg argued that the public had no constitutional right to court proceedings leading up to trials.

Steve Zansberg, an attorney representing the Associated Press, the Denver Post and The New York Times, disagreed, calling closing such a hearing in Colorado unprecedented and noted that a judge in a sexual assault case involving Kobe Bryant did not approve of a similar request. Charges were later dropped against Bryant.

"There's no reason in logic and in law to treat this case differently... merely because the defendant is a professional athlete," Zansberg argued in court.

Douglas County Judge Susanna Meissner-Cutler ruled that Steinberg, prosecutors and Craig Silverman, an attorney representing the accuser, did not sufficiently make their case and ordered the hearing held in public.

Meissner-Cutler set the case for trial after Steinberg waived the preliminary hearing. Cox will be in court May 16 for a hearing where he's expected to enter a plea.

After yesterday's hearing, Steinberg said he skipped the preliminary hearing because "it would have been sensationalized and it would have created a situation where I couldn't get a fair jury."

Cox declined to comment after the hearing, saying only: "I'm controlling what I can control."

Most documents in the case have been sealed, including an affidavit containing details of the allegations that led to Cox's arrest Dec. 9, which is also being contested by the news media. Prosecutors have asked that the documents remain sealed, partly because Cox is a public figure.

Cox faces one count of sexual assault while the victim was physically helpless and one count of sexual assault while the victim was incapable of determining the nature of the conduct. If convicted, Cox faces between two years to life in prison.

Cox, a fifth-round pick out of Oklahoma State, started nine games for the Broncos his rookie season. He was frequently targeted by opposing quarterbacks as he played opposite perennial Pro Bowler Champ Bailey.

The 24-year-old Cox wasn't the only Broncos player to get into legal trouble last season. Linebacker D.J. Williams was stripped of his captaincy after his second drunken driving arrest and rookie linebacker Kevin Alexander was waived hours after his arrest on a domestic violence call in December. Prosecutors later dropped domestic violence charges against Alexander after the woman he was accused of hitting refused to cooperate.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on March 10, 2011 (boomark / email).