PROSECUTORS APPEAL RULING IN BINI CASE

Prosecutors on Thursday appealed a Sept. 1 ruling that sharply limited the
evidence that can be presented at trial against Denver police officer
Joseph Bini.

Bini is accused of lying in a search warrant affidavit that sent SWAT
officers to the wrong house on a drug raid last year and ended with the
shooting death of 45-year-old Ismael Mena.

In the appeal, prosecutors are asking the Colorado Supreme Court to decide
whether Denver District Judge Shelley Oilman "grossly abused" her
discretion in ordering prosecutors not to present evidence of Mena's death
and that no drugs were found in the home.

Prosecutors also want the high court to determine if Gilman abused her
discretion in refusing to order Bini's personnel file to be turned over to
them. The justices may decide as early as today whether to reject or
accept the appeal. Bini is scheduled for trial in early October.