Judge delays Pellicano trial to 2008
The federal racketeering and wiretapping trial of onetime Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano and five others was put off Monday until next year to accommodate a new defense lawyer and allow more time to resolve pretrial issues.
The postponement until Feb. 27 represents the third time that U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer has agreed that the complexity of the case and voluminous evidence warrant a delay.
During a brief hearing, Fischer also directed both sides to reach an agreement on how hard drives taken from Pellicano’s office computers can be shared with defense attorneys without divulging information that is either protected by attorney-client privilege, is private and personal or is not pertinent to the case.
The former private eye and his co-defendants, including entertainment attorney Terry Christensen and former Police Sgt. Mark Arneson, pleaded not guilty in March to the latest indictment, which alleges a conspiracy by Pellicano and others to illegally access confidential information on behalf of clients who were engaged in lawsuits or attempting to intimidate others.
The indictment was the fourth in the long-running investigation of Pellicano, who has remained in custody pending the trial.
The new attorney is Adam Braun. A former federal prosecutor, he is representing software engineer Kevin Kachikian, who is accused of helping Pellicano conduct illegal wiretaps.
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