Beatty bids to keep text messages sealed

DETROIT, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Attorneys for an aide to former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick say the judge in her corruption trial should keep text messages sent between the two under seal.

The Detroit Free Press has asked State Judge Timothy Kenny to release the text messages, which were at the heart of both Kilpatrick's conviction on obstruction of justice charges as well as Christine Beatty's trial on perjury and conspiracy charges, the newspaper reported Wednesday.

Beatty, Kilpatrick's former chief of staff, contends release of the documents would make it impossible for her to get a fair trial. Her lawyer blasted Wayne County prosecutors for not opposing the newspaper's request.

"The prosecution is saying the trial is going to be in a back room … It's insulting to the intelligence to say that," attorney Mayer Morganroth said in Kenny's courtroom, noting that prosecutors had already agreed to seal the information in Beatty's case. "All we're asking for is a continuation of the same protective order … that we all agreed upon."

Kenny is expected to make a decision on the Free Press' request soon, the newspaper said.