Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jan 2009
Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
Copyright: 2009 Tallahassee Democrat
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/hdEs6Z0o
Website: http://www.tallahassee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/444
Author: Jennifer Portman, Democrat Senior Writer

HOFFMAN ATTORNEY SEEKS TO STOP CITY COMMENTS ON CASE

The city should be prohibited from talking about the cost to taxpayers
of a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the parents of slain
confidential informant Rachel Hoffman, an attorney for the Hoffman
family said in a court motion.

In the motion filed Thursday, Lance Block said the city made unethical
and improper comments about the potential cost last week on CNN
Headline News. A city official told CNN that the city has no liability
insurance and that any payments would come from taxpayers.

Block argues that whether the city has insurance or not has nothing to
do with the case and talking about it may taint a jury.

"The existence or amount of insurance coverage has no bearing on the
issues of liability and damages, and such evidence should not be
considered by the jury," the motion states. "The general rule is that
during trial no reference should be made concerning the wealth or
poverty of a party."

City Attorney Jim English responded in a written statement by saying,
"Mr. Block has hired a public relations firm to push this story to
both local and national media and now he is saying we shouldn't
respond accurately and truthfully to the inquiries he has generated.
We were asked who will pay any damages in this suit and as they will
ultimately be paid by taxpayers, that is what we said. It is a
truthful statement and frankly we don't know how to answer it any
other way." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake