Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 14, 1990 TAG: 9003143138
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/7 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MIAMI LENGTH: Medium
U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler also tentatively scheduled the trial of Noriega and his co-defendants for Jan. 28, 1991, a date Noriega attorney Steven Kollin called "realistic."
The judge capped weeks of legal wrangling Tuesday when he issued the 12-page protective order defining how the Classified Information Procedures Act of 1980 will be applied in the Noriega case.
Classified information belonging to any federal agency that deals with national security, as well as information from Noriega's private dealings with more than 20 foreign governments, must first be reviewed by the Justice Department's court security officer before it can be introduced as evidence, Hoeveler said.
Information in books, newspapers and other publications are similarly restricted if the published reports include confirmation by someone with access to classified information and if the Justice Department believes it could affect national security, Hoeveler ruled.
But Hoeveler denied several key restrictions sought by the government, including a demand that defense attorneys immediately submit to prosecutors, as well as the neutral court security officer, any sensitive evidence they plan to introduce at trial.
The judge also refused prosecutors' requests for a lifetime gag order that would have forced anyone given access to classified documents to get prior approval from intelligence agencies before speaking about that information.
by CNB