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Judge Again Delays Ruling On Release Of Bollea Recordings

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 6, 2008

CLEARWATER - Yet again, a circuit judge this afternoon put off deciding whether audiotaped conversations between Nick Bollea and his family should be released to news organizations.

Attorneys for Bollea, who is serving an eight-month sentence at the Pinellas County Jail, where such conversations are taped, are trying to persuade Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Jirotka to stop any more recordings from being released.

Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats, who oversees the jail, has released more than 20 hours of conversation Bollea had with his father, famed former wrestler Hulk Hogan, and mother, Linda, who is divorcing Hogan.

Hulk Hogan's real name is Terry Bollea.

The sheriff stopped releasing the recordings after Bollea's attorneys filed a lawsuit against him in June, arguing, among other things, that the sheriff was violating Bollea's privacy.

Coats' office thinks the conversations are public record.

So do attorneys with Thomas & LoCicero, the firm representing Media General, the company that owns The Tampa Tribune and TBO.com. Attorneys Gregg Thomas and Susan Tillotson Bunch were at a hearing today to argue for the release of the recordings.

Bollea's attorneys say the conversations were not public because of Bollea's status as a juvenile at the time Coats released the first batch of recordings. They also say they should not have allowed a television station to videotape Bollea's video visitations with his family as that violates a code governing media access to prisoners.

The sheriff's office is trying to get Jirotka to rule that the recordings are public record through a legal avenue in which the judge simply rules on the legal substance of Bollea's arguments as made in a filed complaint.

This afternoon, after Jaime Eagan, associate general counsel for the sheriff's office, began arguing why the judge should agree with the sheriff, Bollea's attorney cried foul.

Eagan brought up other cases that buttressed her position.

Maegen Peek Luka, Bollea's attorney, said that was not allowed under the legal avenue the sheriff chose to argue for release of the recordings.

She repeatedly and strenuously objected as Eagan continued making her case, saying Eagan could not go outside the scope of the complaint, but Jirotka overruled Luka's objections.

Both Luka and A.J. Barranco, the attorney for Linda Bollea, who was at today's hearing, noted appeals courts were clear on the legal avenue Eagan chose and intimated that Jirotka could be reversed on appeal for allowing Eagan to continue. Luka told the judge she didn't even prepare to argue her position because she thought the judge was going to rule outright on the validity of Bollea's complaint.

After today's hearings, Eagan said she disagreed. She said the whole point of the hearing was to decide whether the recordings are public record.

During the hearing, Eagan said the recordings were public because Bollea had been adjudicated as an adult and lost any confidentiality he might have had as a juvenile. She also said an inmate's right to privacy, as opposed to a member of the public is greatly diminished.

As for whether Coats violated a code governing media access to prisoners, Eagan said the code Bollea's attorneys were citing is for the Department of Corrections, which oversees the state's prison system, not a county jail system such as the one Coats oversees.

It was not clear when Jirotka would rule on whether the audiotapes are public record.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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