Netanyahu can get pretrial disputes heard by other judges, court rules

The ruling could delay the prime minister's trial.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at his office in Jerusalem on September 13. (photo credit: YOAV DUDKEVITCH/REUTERS)
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at his office in Jerusalem on September 13.
(photo credit: YOAV DUDKEVITCH/REUTERS)
Jerusalem District Court Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman on Thursday endorsed a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have certain pretrial evidentiary disputes heard by a different panel of judges.
Friedman-Feldman’s decision keeps the trial under her purview as well as certain pretrial evidentiary issues. But it specifically moves any issues that require a hearing out of the presence of Netanyahu’s defense lawyers to another panel.
It was unclear whether this would delay the start of the trial in January, since Friedman-Feldman referred the handling of the other panel of judges to Jerusalem District Court President Aharon Farkash, who has yet to select the new panel.
During Sunday’s hearing, Friedman-Feldman seemed opposed to transferring any issues to another panel. She said she had altered her position after hearing from the state prosecution that some of the evidence in dispute could reflect poorly on Netanyahu and the other defendants in the cases.
Under a special process, the prosecution, without the defense in the room, will present the disputed evidence before this second judicial panel, which will then decide whether the evidence is relevant and must be given to the defense, or whether it will remain classified or privileged and kept out of the trial.
Friedman-Feldman wanted to avoid exposure to evidence that could demean Netanyahu and other defendants while at the same time coming to a conclusion that the evidence could not be admissible during the trial anyway.
This would have left her potentially unnecessarily prejudiced against Netanyahu and the defendants, given that judges are directed only to view evidence that is admissible at trial.
Until Friedman-Feldman’s ruling, Netanyahu was due to respond in writing to the charges on November 28, and a final pretrial hearing was set for December 6.