Bauer to invoke Fifth in restraining order case

LOS ANGELES >> Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer intends to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and will answer no questions in the case of a woman seeking a five-year restraining order against him, his attorney said in court Aug. 18.

Bauer’s lawyer Shawn Holley told a judge the only questions he will answer are “his name and what he does for a living,” and cited a pending criminal investigation by police in Pasadena, California.

The legal team seeking the order for a woman who says Bauer choked her into unconsciousness and punched her in two sexual encounters said that Bauer was the last remaining witness they intended to call at the hearing.

Holley asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman to allow Bauer to avoid taking the stand entirely, as defendants in criminal cases do.

Normally in civil matters, a witness would invoke the Fifth Amendment on a question-by-question basis.

Gould-Saltman adjourned the hearing for the day, saying she would read legal precedents provided by Holley and issue a decision the morning of Aug. 19.

The judge may also issue her decision on the domestic violence restraining order Aug, 19, after hearing final arguments from the two sides.

Bauer, who is fighting the order and has said through representatives that everything that happened between him and the 27-yearold San Diego woman was consensual, has attended all three days of the hearing and had been expected to take the stand.