Reporters, ADA don't have to discuss relationships

The Associated Press
   TYLER  - Two news reporters will not have to answer questions about their alleged relationship with the state's lead prosecutor in a case involving an East Texas swingers club, a judge ruled Friday.
   KLTV reporter Danielle Capper, Tyler Morning Telegraph reporter Casey Knaupp and Assistant District Attorney Joe Murphy don't have to hand over their cell phone records or e-mails. Judge Jack Skeen Jr. also ruled that they can be questioned during a hearing on Monday, but they cannot be asked about their personal lives.
   ``The questions are limited to what I see as legit,'' Skeen said.
   Patrick Kelly, 41, is set to be the third alleged member of the so-called ``Mineola Swingers Club'' to stand trial. He and five others are accused of teaching children as young as 5 to have sex with each other and dance provocatively for crowds as large as 100 people.
   The first two defendants to stand trial were both sentenced to life in prison. Thad Davidson, Kelly's lawyer, says his client passed a lie-detector test and is innocent.
   In a hearing on Friday to determine what would be admissible in a change of venue proceeding set for Monday, Davidson said he needed to see e-mails and text messages between Capper, Knaupp and Murphy.
   Davidson said the reporters' coverage of the case has been biased and has colored the prospective jury pool in Smith County.
   ``For the defense to say 'wow, the reporting is biased or one-sided I have to explain why, by proving there's a relationship. Because of the relationship, information was exchanged,'' Davidson argued to the court, according to a report by KETK-TV.
   Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham and attorneys for Capper and Knaupp argued that the news reports should be examined in court - but questions should not be asked about personal lives.
   The court did not rule upon a separate request from the state for e-mails, faxes and voicemail recordings from Davidson to Capper, KLTV reported.
   Bingham said his office became aware of the correspondence after obtaining a police report containing Capper's request for a sheriff's deputy to escort her from the courthouse back to the television station after seeing the defense attorney outside.
   ``This appears to be someone getting e-mails from Mr. Davidson that she considers to be creepy enough to need an escort,'' Bingham said. ``This is long before any allegations were made against her from Mr. Davidson.''
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