LOS ANGELES, June 18 (UPI) -- A California judge has opted to make public several documents in the divorce case of U.S. Senate candidate Jack Ryan and former wife, actress Jeri Ryan.
Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider made the decision to unseal the private paper at the the request of attorneys for the Chicago Tribune and WLS-TV, The Tribune said Friday.
In announcing his decision, Schnider admitted the publicity surrounding the release of the unsealed documents could be harmful to the couple's 9-year-old son, but said he weighed the public interest of disclosure against the private interests of the Ryans and their child.
"In the end," Schnider said, "the balance tips slightly to the public. ...
Protection from embarrassment cannot be a basis for keeping from the public what's put in public courts."
The judge did not elaborate on the nature of the information in the documents, The Tribune said.
Ryan recently began warning his fellow Republicans he expected embarrassing information about him would be contained in documents to be released, sources close to Ryan's campaign told the newspaper, adding Ryan also said he believed he could withstand the disclosures.
Ryan and the "Star Trek: Voyager" and "Boston Public" star divorced in 1999.
