Bauer hearing moved to early next month
LOS ANGELES — A hearing Friday on the restraining order against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was continued by a judge until next month. It was Bauer’s first court appearance since a woman accused him in June of choking her unconscious and sexually assaulting her.
Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman ordered the case continued until Aug. 2, a move that gives Bauer’s legal team more time to prepare for witnesses and medical records that his attorney said were turned over “at the 11th hour” by the woman’s attorneys. The hearing is to determine whether the accuser’s restraining order against the Los Angeles Dodgers ace should continue tobe enforced.
When the hearing reconvenes, it is expected to last two to three days, according to estimates in court by both sides’ attorneys, and include up to nine witnesses, six for the woman — including an expert
witness and multiple police detectives and three to be called by Bauer.
Bauer appeared in court wearing a mask and a maroon suit, staring straight ahead. He did not speak in the proceedings, and it’s unclear whether he will testify. His lawyers initially indicated that he planned to be a witness on his own behalf, but attorney Shawn Holley later said that they had advised him to refuse to answer questions due to an ongoing criminal investigation by the Pasadena Police Department. The judge indicated that he could still be called to the stand, and would have to decline to incriminate himself following each individual question.
Bauer has been on paid leave for roughly three weeks, a term that was most recently extended to July 27. An MLB spokesperson declined to comment as to how the continuance will impact how much time Bauer will miss.
Court administrators appeared to be surprised by the proposed length of the hearing, as the proceedings were shuffled between courtrooms multiple times. Before the hearing was continued, it appeared that the woman planned to make Bauer’s alleged Instagram messages to her a centerpiece of her case, as members of her legal team carried oversized reproductions of the messages on posterboard.
His messages to her were included in her application for a restraining order, including one in which she detailed injuries to her face and jaw and he allegedly wrote:“I feel so bad that this happened.”
The woman was granted a temporary domestic violence restraining order in the case last month, after she made graphic allegations in court filings, supported by photos and medical records, about two separate sexual encounters with Bauer that she said turned violent.
His agent and attorney, John Fetterolf, has denied the allegations as “baseless” and “defamatory.” Attorneys for both sides did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
The Washington Post does not typically identify alleged victims of sexual violence.
The allegations against Bauer have fueled questions about the Dodgers’ decision to sign the pitcher last offseason to a threeyear deal that includes $40 million in 2021, the richest single-season salary in baseball history. Bauer, who won the National League Cy Young award while on the Cincinnati Reds during the pandemic shorted 2020 season, was known by then for clashing with women on Twitter, leading to death threats and other harassment from some of his nearly half a million followers. Dodgers leadership said at the time they had vetted the pitcher.