Posted on 08/14/2002 12:31:37 PM PDT by kcpopps
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - A Beverly Hills judge on Tuesday delayed setting a trial date for Oscar nominated actress Winona Ryder, who is accused of shoplifting $6,000 worth of goods from the Saks Fifth Avenue department store last December.
Instead of setting a date for trial, as had been expected, Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox set an Aug. 26 date for pretrial motions on what evidence could be admitted during the eventual trial. Fox said he would set a trial date within 30 days of that hearing.
Ryder, 30, the star of the 1999 film, "Girl, Interrupted," has pleaded innocent and is free on $20,000. She did not attend the hearing.
Her lawyer, Mark Geragos, claims she is being prosecuted because of her celebrity and has asked that Los Angeles County prosecutors in the case be replaced with ones from the state Attorney General's office.
The Aug. 26 hearing will deal with questions relating to the admissibility of evidence and discovery issues with prosecutor Ann Rundle telling Judge Fox that Geragos had not yet presented her with certain pieces of evidence. Geragos denied the claim.
Fox ruled on June 6 that there was enough evidence to require Ryder to stand trial on four felony charges -- grand theft, second-degree burglary, vandalism and possession of a controlled substance called Oxycodone.
The judge's decision came after a hearing in which five prosecution witnesses testified, including a Saks security officer who told the court that she saw Ryder kneel on a dressing room floor and cut sensor tags off two purses.
Uhhh, no, she is being prosecuted because she was shoplifting!
Bingo, this is turning into the OJ of shoplifting trials. Calling Judge Ito.
Sounds like a dream I once had.
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