Hearing delayed for Dodgers star
Dodgers star pitcher is contesting request for restraining order in his sexual assault case.
Pitcher Trevor Bauer, who has been accused of sexual assault, contests a woman’s request for a restraining order.
The following story includes graphic details of sexual assault allegations.
Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer is contesting a restraining order request filed against him in Los Angeles Superior Court, triggering a hearing to evaluate statements made by a woman accusing him of sexual assault.
Attorneys on both sides agreed Friday afternoon to a continuance and the hearing is scheduled to resume for three days Aug. 2, 3 and 19. Earlier in the day, Bauer’s attorney, Shawn Holley, waived a continuance, but when court reconvened after a lunch recess, each side accused the other of introducing new witnesses and exhibits at the last minute.
“We came here ready, but ready on what had been presented to us,” Holley told the judge.
The hearing began an hour late, at 11:30 a.m., and after a short session a lunch recess pushed it back to 1:30 p.m. By then, it seemed everyone in the courtroom was amenable to a continuance.
“If attorneys really don’t want continuances, you’d
see a vehement objection,” said Southland family law attorney E. Scott Clarke, who believes Bauer and his accuser could be privately negotiating a settlement through their attorneys.
Holley said she plans to call at most three witnesses. The accuser’s attorney, Doreen Olson, said about six witnesses will be called to help explain why the restraining order should be granted.
Bauer’s attorney estimates the hearing will take three days, while the woman’s attorney suggested it would take two days.
Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman ruled the existing temporary restraining order against Bauer remain in place through the hearing. The judge also said Bauer is required to take the witness stand to answer questions from the accuser’s attorneys, even if he invokes the 5th Amendment that allows him not to implicate himself with every answer.
Bauer arrived just as the proceedings began Friday morning wearing a purple suit. The woman who requested the restraining order also attended.
After the hearing, Bauer’s attorneys filed motions to quash subpoenas seeking access to Bauer’s social media records and his private investigator.
The attorneys argued federal law allows social media records to be released without a user’s permission only in criminal cases and the restraining order request hearing is a civil case. They also contend Bauer has a right to privacy that would be violated if the records were released.
They stated the work of private investigator Russell Greene is covered by an extension of attorney-client privilege and should not be disclosed.
Bauer’s team argued both subpoenas were outside the scope of what is to be covered during the hearing, which will focus solely on the contents of the restraining order request recounting the two sexual encounters between Bauer and the woman and whether it should be granted.
Both motions conclude with a routine request the woman pay $30,000 in legal fees for filing subpoenas in bad faith or without justification. Legal fee requests are commonly included in civil litigation motions but rarely granted.
There is no timeline for a ruling on the motions.
Before Friday’s court appearance, the woman’s legal team filed subpoenas to compel the testimony of law enforcement officers in San Diego and Pasadena she contacted to report her assault allegations and medical staff who evaluated her injuries, according to court records.
The subpoenas also included requests to Twitter and Facebook, along with its subsidiary Instagram, and Greene for records related to Bauer.
The domestic violence temporary restraining order was originally executed June 28 by the woman, who accused Bauer of choking her unconscious and injuring her during what were initially consensual sexual encounters at his Pasadena home on April 21 and May 15.
In her request for the temporary restraining order, Bauer’s accuser provided a written statement under penalty of perjury, stating Bauer choked her to the point that she lost consciousness and punched her in the face.
The Pasadena Police Department and Major League Baseball are conducting separate investigations. Bauer is on paid administrative leave through July 27. He is the highest-paid pitcher in MLB at $38 million this year.
Bauer has not been arrested or charged. Because the police investigation is ongoing, any testimony Bauer might provide could be used against him in a potential criminal case.
In her request for the restraining order, Bauer’s accuser provided a written statement under penalty of perjury.
“I remember this vividly as it was very startling and painful,” the woman wrote in her statement. When she woke up after their second encounter, she said she “had a terrible pain behind both of my ears” and “tasted blood in my mouth.”
A few days later, she said, she had two black eyes, a swollen jaw and cheekbones, a split lip and bruising near her vagina, on her gums and on her head. Pictures of her face included in the court filing show bruising under her eyes and a scab on her lip as well as swelling on her jaw and cheekbone.
Later that day, the woman said, a friend took her to Alvarado Hospital Medical Center in San Diego. She said she underwent rapid CT scans of her brain, face and neck and told hospital doctors and psychiatrists what happened.
The woman “appears to have suffered significant head and facial trauma,” the records show.
Bauer’s attorney and agent, Jon Fetterolf, issued a statement June 30 that read in part: “Mr. Bauer had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship initiated by [the woman] beginning in April 2021. We have messages that show [her] repeatedly asking for ‘rough’ sexual encounters involving requests to be ‘choked out’ and slapped in the face.”