Judge muzzles police, attorneys in NBA star's case

By The Associated Press

07.23.02

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PHILADELPHIA — A judge issued a gag order in the Allen Iverson assault case yesterday, saying he didn't want his decision-making influenced by heavy news coverage.

Municipal Court Judge James DeLeon barred police, the district attorney's office, prosecutors and defense lawyers from talking to reporters about the NBA All-Star's criminal case. He said he would revisit his decision after Iverson's preliminary hearing, scheduled for July 29.

DeLeon later told WCAU-TV that he needed to be shielded from newspaper and television news accounts.

"I have the case now ... so I don't want to have any unnecessary information when I read the newspaper on a daily basis that might taint my decision-making," DeLeon said.

In court, the judge had said that he wanted to "buffer" prosecutors and defense attorneys from media coverage of the case.

"We are putting a bubble over the proceeding, so that between now and the time of the preliminary hearing, the commonwealth and the defense will have the opportunity to prepare their case without any type of problem, as far as publicity is concerned," DeLeon said in court.

A reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer protested the gag order, arguing the paper's lawyer should have a chance to appeal before it was enforced. DeLeon denied the request.

The judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for Iverson to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to try the Philadelphia 76ers' guard on charges he threatened two men while armed with a gun.

Iverson was not required to be in court yesterday and did not attend.

Iverson, 27, is accused of throwing his wife, Tawanna, out of their mansion during a fight, then storming into his cousin's apartment with a gun the next night and threatening two men while looking for her.

Iverson was arrested last week on 14 felony and misdemeanor charges, including assault, terroristic threats and weapons offenses. Iverson's uncle, who allegedly accompanied him, was also charged.

Iverson, the city's highest-profile sports celebrity, has been the subject of intense local media scrutiny since the allegations first surfaced nearly three weeks ago. Hordes of reporters and photographers camped outside Iverson's suburban mansion in the days before he turned himself in to face the charges.

DeLeon told reporters after yesterday's brief hearing that the gag order "more or less gives a buffer for the defense and the commonwealth to prepare themselves for next week."

He said he took it upon himself to issue the order; it was not requested by either prosecutors or defense attorneys.

Most of the details of the prosecution's case against Iverson have already been released in court documents. Iverson's lawyers have consistently refused to comment, other than saying Iverson will plead not guilty.