Court Refuses to Bar Walsh’s Use of North Defense Summary

WASHINGTON —  A federal appeals court panel Wednesday rejected a bid by Oliver L. North’s attorneys to avoid showing prosecutors a summary of classified testimony the defense expects to present at the Iran-Contra trial.

The U.S. Court of Appeals dissolved a temporary stay it issued Tuesday and denied a motion to permanently bar U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell from giving the office of independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh a summary of proposed defense testimony that is classified.

The request could have forced a delay in the trial, now set to begin Jan. 31.

Lawyers Oppose Summary

North’s lawyers have said that providing the 162-page summary to prosecutors would unfairly present them with information on North’s defense and they petitioned the appeals court for a writ of mandamus.

But the three-judge appeals court panel said such a step “is to be invoked only in extraordinary situations,” adding that although North had raised “serious claims that he will suffer deprivation of constitutional rights, he fails” to satisfy the stringent legal standard for obtaining such relief.

“This court will not interrupt a criminal proceeding and invade the province of the district court when petitioner has an effective remedy through direct appeal from a final judgment of conviction,” the appeals court said.

The decision came as Walsh met with Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh to discuss the continuing problems posed by classified documents in the case against the former National Security Council aide.

Accompanied by Aides

Walsh, who said only that he had “a very serious discussion” with Thornburgh, was accompanied by aides who deal with the secrecy issue as well as John Keker, recently named the lead trial prosecutor in the North case.

It was learned that Walsh sought the meeting with Thornburgh to discuss the implications of Gesell’s refusal Tuesday to reconsider a Dec. 12 decision ordering the inclusion of certain sensitive references in 300 documents prosecutors want to use as trial exhibits.

Walsh had asked Gesell to modify the order to accommodate concerns raised last month by intelligence agencies.

North would be the first of four defendants, including former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter, to stand trial on charges stemming from the diversion to Nicaraguan rebels of proceeds from the secret arms sales to Iran.