California dentist abandons request for secret trial

The lawyer for a California dentist on trial for allegedly fondling more than a dozen patients conceded this week that his request to totally exclude press and public from the trial was "not legally sustainable," The Sacramento Bee reports.

Defense attorney Michael Rothschild had asked the court to "exclude all media from all trial proceedings, including but not limited to jury selection, opening statement and witness testimony, in this matter." But at a Monday hearing, Rothschild reportedly said that The Bee’s attorney, Charity Kenyon, had convinced him the order requested was "far too broad and not legally sustainable."

Rothschild instead asked the court to limit the number of reporters in the courtroom in order to cut down on what he described as an onslaught of publicity, according to The Bee. But Judge Stephen Mock said that careful questioning and instruction of jurors would adequately shield the jury.