MIAMI -- Venus and Serena Williams and
Lindsay Davenport don't have to testify at the trial of the man
accused of stalking fellow professional Martina Hingis, a judge
ruled Thursday.
But County Judge Kevin Emas said that their testimony might be
needed in some fashion during the trial of Dubravko Rajcevic, which
begins Friday. He is charged with one count of stalking and three
counts of trespassing at last year's Ericsson Open on Key Biscayne.
The judge directed the lawyers for the sisters and for Davenport
to get affidavits from them on if they were "in a position to
observe whether or not Hingis was suffering from substantial
emotional distress during the period between June 1, 1999, and April
1, 2000." That's the time frame in which Rajcevic is accused of
stalking Hingis.
The judge directed Kevin Davis, the attorney for the Williams
sisters, and Maury Udell, the attorney for Davenport, to get the
affidavits back to him by Friday morning.
Rajcevic's trial will begin with opening statements from
prosecutors Christopher Calkin and Ergio Fernandez and defense
attorney Frank Abrams. The case will be heard by a jury of four men
and two women, with one man and one woman as alternates.
The trial is expected to take about five days. Hingis is
expected to take the stand Monday and face Rajcevic, who insists he
is in love with her and she is interested in a relationship with
him.
Thursday's hearing, lasting nearly two hours, was conducted with
Davis speaking to the court by telephone from Seattle and Udell, a
Miami lawyer, appearing personally.
The two lawyers have submitted affidavits stating their clients
had no knowledge of the case nor of any contact between Hingis and
the defendant. In fact, in his own affidavit, Davis said it was
"public knowledge that Venus and Serena were not fond of Martina
and that Martina felt the same way."
During the hearing, Abrams told the judge that his prime reasons
for wanting the three tennis stars to testify was to show that none
of them had observed Hingis suffering any kind of distress during
their matches with her.
Abrams said that Hingis had either won or reached the finals in
her matches with the sisters and Davenport and had shown no
emotional distress at any time. He said he also wanted to question
the three stars and get their testimony on the "high levels of
security" that exist during the Ericsson and other Women's Tennis
Association events.
After hearing Abrams' presentation of the testimony he hoped to
get from the Williams sisters and Davenport, Emas said he felt the
defense lawyer had not made a good faith effort in trying to
subpoena them for the trial just two weeks before it was to begin.
He noted that at no time did Abrams try to get their testimony
in pretrial depositions or reach them personally for statements
before the beginning of this year's Ericsson.
Finally, Rajcevic stood up and told Judge Emas that he wanted
his lawyer to withdraw the subpoenas because "I don't want to hurt
them."
He said "I am very angry, I want to be able to maintain my
relationship with Serena and Venus. I want these subpoenas
withdrawn even if it hurts me in the end."
Abrams said that, as his lawyer, he did not agree with Rajcevic
ordering him to withdraw the subpoenas. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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