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	Halt Sought to Release of Victims' Names By Paul A. Long The Kentucky Post October 12, 2006 http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061012/NEWS02/610120358/1014 Frankfort - Two appellate judges from Louisville seemed to give little sympathy to lawyers seeking to halt an order that the names, phone numbers and address of victims of sexual abuse by priests in the Covington Diocese should be turned over to prosecutors. But by the end of the proceedings, it appeared that the Court of Appeals panels might be willing to stop or re-write the order to make it more palatable to the victims. Attorneys who represent the victims said the order from now-retired Senior Judge John Potter would improperly change the terms of the $84 million settlement with the diocese and violates a confidentiality order that all sides had agreed to. The lawyers previously obtained an order to delay the implementation of the order, and during oral arguments on Wednesday asked the three-judge panel to make that stay permanent. But Judge Lisabeth Abramson said people shouldn't have the right to confidentiality when crimes have been committed. She said there is a "compelling public interest" to identify and prosecute offenders. "Is the civil recovery coming at the expense of the public welfare and the public safety?" she asked Cincinnati attorney Robert Steinberg, one of the lawyers representing the victims. Potter ruled that that the special masters who are approving awards in the settlement of the class-action lawsuit against the diocese must turn over the names - and phone numbers or addresses - of victims and their abusers to local prosecutors. He said he did so because he wanted to ensure the abusers face punishment for their crimes. But Steinberg said many of his clients never would have come forward without the assurance of confidentiality. To change that now would subject them to the same betrayal of trust they faced when priests sexually abused them, he said. He also said it would add significantly to the time and effort of the two special masters, diverting money that should go to the victims. But Abramson and Senior Judge William Knopf wondered why the settlement has not led to the prosecution of priests. They said several priests from the Archdiocese of Louisville were prosecuted after 254 people settled their individual civil cases. In those cases, they said, every victim was named and identified, and Jefferson Commonwealth Attorney R. David Stengel was able to secure convictions. But Ann Oldfather, a Louisville attorney was has participated in both the class-action lawsuit against the Covington Diocese and in the lawsuits in Louisville, said Stengel received none of his evidence or information from the lawsuits. Instead, she said, victims went directly to him and insisted he prosecute. Many of the Covington victims are reluctant to testify or be identified, she said. Even in Louisville, many people passed on filing a lawsuit because they did not want to be named, Oldfather said. Had they been able to file anonymously, she said, the number of lawsuits would have been three to four times as many. Steinberg also told the judges that prosecutors in Northern Kentucky and in other counties in the Covington Diocese have the names of the sexually abusive priests. Several have been investigated, and one - the late Earl Bierman - was prosecuted and convicted, he said. Others were not prosecuted for a variety of reasons, including the age of the case - much of the abuse took place 30 or 40 years ago - the paucity of evidence, and the fact that many of those accused are elderly, ill or dead. "Do you have any living abusers who have not been reported to the authorities?" Abramson asked. "I don't think so," Steinberg said. The Diocese of Covington is supporting the effort to keep the names of victims confidential. Its attorney, Carrie Huff, did not speak in court Wednesday, but previously said it gives prosecutors information about any credible allegations against a priest. Steinberg and the other attorneys also got some support from the state Attorney General's Office, which said the lack of victims' phone number or addresses would not hinder a prosecution. Assistant Attorney General Ken Riggs said the various commonwealth attorneys could easily subpoena the information, or open a grand jury investigation, if the information was needed to prosecute a case. Steinberg said if it came to that, he would cooperate in the investigation. An apparent breakthrough in the hearing came near the end, when Thomas D. Lambros of Ashtabula, Ohio, the former chief judge in the Northern District of Ohio who is one of the special masters overseeing the awards, asked to speak. He had a suggestion, he said. Perhaps if they waited a while, until he and the second special master, William Burleigh, chairman of the board of the E.W. Scripps Co., had a chance to review all the claims, they could then meet with the judge in the case, attorneys for all sides, and local prosecutors, and go over the claims. That way, he said, the prosecutors could review the cases knowing the details - how long ago they happened, the evidence, the status of the defendants, and whether the victims wanted to testify or were reluctant to - and determine if they wanted to prosecute. If they did, he said, the attorneys could provide additional information about the victims, including how they could be reached. The attorneys agreed that was workable. The appellate judges seemed impressed. Now, their decision can go several ways: they can uphold Potter's order, they can halt its implementation, or they can rewrite it. A decision is likely to take several weeks.
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