Smith Attorneys Want TV Barred at Trial : Judiciary: They argue that coverage will influence jurors, but Florida law permits cameras in courtroom. Data on alleged victim’s sex, drug histories sought.

WASHINGTON —  Lawyers for William Kennedy Smith asked a Florida judge Monday to bar TV cameras from his rape trial or at least to prohibit televised pictures of the jurors, to ensure that “carnival-like” news coverage does not deprive Smith of a fair trial.

Cable News Network and the new Courtroom Television Network are planning extensive coverage of the trial. Smith, a nephew of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), has pleaded not guilty to charges of raping a 29-year-old Florida woman. The trial is scheduled to begin next Monday.

Smith’s attorneys, although acknowledging that Florida’s open-trial law gives them no veto over broadcast coverage, said that, with cameras present, “jurors will . . . make decisions on the basis of how they would look on camera and/or how they believe the community expects them to decide.”

“The essential justification for the use of cameras in the courtroom--educating the public--would be lost between the detergent and automobile advertisements,” the attorneys wrote. Instead of a fair trial, “the public would be treated to a sensationalized, Hollywood-style mockery of the justice system.”

A 1979 law made Florida one of the nation’s most permissive states regarding televised courtroom coverage. Dozens of trials--both criminal and civil--are broadcast each year.

Smith’s lawyers argued that, if Judge Mary Lupo does not go along with an outright ban on TV coverage, she should at least order jurors excluded from any televised reports and should prohibit disclosure of their names and addresses.

Otherwise, “the jurors . . . will . . . understand that they are the central characters in an internationally known, sensationalized drama,” the defense lawyers wrote.

Separately, Smith’s attorneys released a list of information they want from prosecutors that hints at the defense strategy they may use.

The attorneys asked the judge to compel prosecutors to release all available information about any psychotherapy, drug use and treatment, abortions, contraceptive use, venereal disease and alcohol abuse by the alleged victim. They asked also for any information showing that the woman plans to bring a civil suit against Smith or had sold her story to any news organization or movie company.

It is not clear how much of this information could make it into the trial. Florida’s rape “shield” law prohibits discussion of an alleged victim’s sex history in many circumstances.

At a hearing Wednesday, the defense will argue that such evidence should be admissible. The defense will also make its case for a change in venue and to delay the opening of the trial for at least three months.