Kraft, Prosecutors Ask Court To Review Legality Of Surveillance

FOXBOROUGH, MA — Robert Kraft's attorneys and Florida prosecutors, for what might be the first time during the New England Patriots owner's soliciting prostitution case, actually agreed on something. Both the prosecution and defense teams asked a Florida appeals court Tuesday to conduct an independent review of the legality of Kraft being secretly recorded at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla. last January. Prosecutors accused Kraft of visiting the spa twice to pay for sex.

State Attorney Dave Aronberg and Kraft's defense team, Alex Spiro and William Burck asked the appeals court to decide whether the surveillance videos should be allowed in trial and released to the public, the Boston Globe reported. Palm Beach County Judge previously ruled against the release of the videos, at least until the swearing in of a jury or if the case is concluded in other ways.

Kraft has pleaded not guilty to the two counts of soliciting prostitution, and his lawyers have argued his constitutional rights were violated when he was secretly recorded by Jupiter police. He was among two dozen men charged in the prostitution sting.

"Just like every other person, [Kraft] had a legitimate expectation of privacy when receiving a private massage in a professional, licensed spa facility," Kraft's attorneys wrote in court documents. "In the normal course of a massage, a patron removes most or all of his or her clothing, behavior similar to that occurring inside a person’s home where Fourth Amendment protections are at their apex."

Aronberg's office said it used the surveillance technology in a legal way, and although this is just a misdemeanor case, want the appellate court to review the case because of the precedent it could set in future cases.

"Though Mr. Kraft is being prosecuted for a misdemeanor solicitation offense, the validity of the investigative tools employed here will affect investigations into a broad range of other offenses, including but not limited to the offense of deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution," prosecutors said in court documents.

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