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Judge blocks release of deposition transcripts at the request of Cardinal Law Attorney for abuse victims wants to depose N.H. bishop By Robert O'Neill, Associated Press, 05/10/02
BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law answered questions for a second day Friday in a priest sex abuse case, but a judge granted an archdiocese request to block the release of transcripts from the session until Law has had up to 30 days to review them. Law's deposition began on Wednesday, and first-day transcripts of the highly unusual questioning of a high-ranking church official were released the same day by the plaintiffs' side. But the archdiocese asked Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney on Friday to stop the unusual practice of releasing transcripts before the entire deposition was completed and those involved had 30 days to review it -- common practice under civil procedure. The deposition would then be entered in court and would be available to the public. The cardinal is being questioned under oath by lawyers in a lawsuit brought against Law and the archdiocese by 86 alleged victims of child-molesting priest John Geoghan. The plaintiffs accuse the church of failing to protect youngsters. On Friday, Law answered questions for about four hours, with a break midday during which he led a Mass at a church in Boston's Roxbury section and offered prayers for victims. But the ruling prevented details from Friday's questioning from emerging, at least for now. Plaintiffs' lawyers, citing the spirit of the judge's ruling, offered few specifics on what had taken place behind closed doors at the chancery, the archdiocese's headquarters. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, representing Geoghan's alleged victims, said Law was again asked about the church's supervision of Geoghan and the decision May 3 by the archdiocese finance council to back out of a settlement agreement. When pressed for specifics, he said the transcript, when released, "would speak for itself." Garabedian said he had hoped the transcripts would be released immediately and opposed the archdiocese's request, but called the ruling "standard operating procedure." "In hindsight you can say it was a little surprising," that the church had not previously requested the 30-day window to review, said David Yas, publisher and editor-in-chief of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. "Maybe they underestimated with how much vigor reporters and others would go after this information." Law and other church officials are accused of negligence for reassigning Geoghan and ignoring warning signs that he was dangerous to children. Geoghan, who is serving up to 10 years in prison on a molestation conviction, has been accused of sexually abusing more than 130 children over three decades. Law was scheduled to continue answering questions on Monday but Garabedian said he might push for more time with the cardinal. The decision "allows public access, but allows Law to correct obvious errors before the world reads about it," said Pat Schiltz, dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law and a former defense lawyer who represented churches and dioceses in hundreds of sex abuse cases. "I think it's the judge trying to do a good job of retaining some normalcy in what has become a very abnormal case." Law's lawyers were said to be upset over the intense media coverage his deposition has generated. "They wanted to control how much spin was out there in the media," archdiocese spokesman Rev. Christopher Coyne said of the plaintiffs' attorneys. Patrick McSorley, an alleged Geoghan victim who attended Friday's session, said Law had said he couldn't recall many of the events he was questioned about. "He remembers, but acts like he doesn't," McSorley said. McSorley said Law offered him his hand before the deposition began but he refused to shake it. "I couldn't shake the man's hand because I knew what was about to come was a lie," McSorley said. Lawyers for media outlets said they would review the ruling when it is officially filed on Monday before determining whether to counter it. "It'd be a tough thing to say that Cardinal Law doesn't have the right to read and sign his transcript" said Tony Fuller, an attorney representing The Boston Globe, The New York Times and WBZ-TV. However, he said, "my guess is there would be some effort to probably get it before the 30 days." In a related development, attorney Roderick MacLeish said he served notice Friday that he intends to depose Manchester, N.H., Bishop John McCormack, and James Porter and John Hanlon, both priests convicted of sexually abusing children. A phone message left for McCormack's spokesman was not immediately returned. McCormack, who served in Boston from 1984-1994, has been dogged by accusations that while serving as director of ministerial personnel, he ignored warnings about abusive priests and had a hand in moving them to new parishes. MacLeish, an attorney for alleged victims of the Rev. Paul Shanley, said he intends to establish a "pattern of practice" showing why the Archdiocese of Boston should not be able to limit liability as a charitable organization. "We're attempting to prove the massive protection of child molesters is not something that falls within the 'charitable purpose' definition of state law," MacLeish said. © Copyright 2002 Boston Globe Electronic Publishing Inc. | Advertise | Contact us | Privacy policy | |
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