According to TMZ, a judge has ruled that police video that was recorded of Robert Kraft inside the Orchids of Asia Day Spa & Massage will not be allowed to be used in the current solicitation of prostitution case against him. This inarguably represents a win for Kraft and his legal team:
Expect Kraft's attorneys to file a motion to dismiss based on lack of evidence, probably tomorrow. The state can either dismiss charges, appeal the decision or take it to court. But so far they haven't cited any evidence other than the video surveillance.
In this instance, the judge had concerns over the search warrant that was issued, which gave police the ability to place cameras inside the business, and which led to Kraft and others being secretly recorded. The judge ruled that police did not minimize their recordings, meaning they didn't protect those who went to Orchids and got legal massages. The judge also ruled that cops didn't minimize the impact on female customers who went to the spa.
Detectives who had recently testified claimed their only assignment while monitoring cameras was to watch for "illegal activity." The judge has claimed that that isn't specific enough, and that written guidelines for when the cameras were to be switched on/off was necessary.
As the judge wrote :"The fact that some totally innocent women and men had their entire lawful time spent in a massage room fully recorded and viewed intermittently by a detective-monitor is unacceptable."
Kraft had previously blocked the video from being released to the public, and today's events should prevent it from seeing the light of day (at least, legally seeing the light of day...it's allegedly been leaked and shopped around).
Kraft has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges. His attorneys had argued that the warrant that set up surveillance of the spa had no instructions to protect innocent customers, that detectives hadn't sought less intrusive methods, and that the case's lead detective made reckless statements in the warrant.
