Evan Agostini / AP
A Pinellas County judge barred the press and public from viewing the sex tape at the center of the lawsuit between wrestler Hulk Hogan and Gawker, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Television monitors will be angled away from the courtroom's gallery so that only the jury can see the 1-minute-40 second-long tape.
In 2012, Gawker posted a sex tape between Hogan and Heather Clem, the wife of Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, a friend of the wrestler. Hogan filed a violation of privacy lawsuit against the media company and asked for $100 million in damages. The trial is set to begin July 6.
“The courts do belong to the people, we agree with that,” Hogan’s lawyer Charles Harder said in court, according to the Tampa Bay Times, adding that the video is hardcore pornography. “But my client's naked body does not belong to the people. My client’s image having sexual intercourse does not belong to the people.”
Harder said showing the video in court would violate Hogan’s privacy all over again because it took months for Gawker to remove the video – upon judicial order – and years for its online traces to be cleared.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Gawker’s lawyer, Rachel Fugate, said the video was “grossly misrepresented” as it showed just nine seconds of sexual intercourse. The rest was conversation between Hogan and Clem in the bedroom.
“If these video excerpts cannot be played in open court, that sends a very clear and unmistakable message to the jury that they are not fit for public disclosure,” she said.
Attorneys for Gawker – as well as other media outlets, including BuzzFeed – filed a motion earlier this week opposing to Hogan’s counsel’s attempts to bar the press and public from seeing the tape, saying, “Hogan’s belief that the tape, excerpts and testimony about them is private, intrusive and potentially offensive is a wholly insufficient basis to override the public’s right to access the court proceedings and records.”
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1KsXPMT
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