'Hotel California' Case Abruptly Ends Midtrial

New York prosecutors abruptly dropped their criminal case midtrial Wednesday against three men who had been accused of conspiring to possess a cache of hand-drafted lyrics to "Hotel California" and other Eagles hits. Assistant Manhattan DA Aaron Ginandes informed the judge at 10am that prosecutors would no longer proceed with the case, reports the AP, citing newly available emails that defense lawyers said raised questions about the trial's fairness.

• What happened: It's a little murky, but some 6,000 pages of material emerged only when Eagles star Don Henley apparently decided last week to waive attorney-client privilege, after he and other prosecution witnesses had already testified. The defense argued that the new disclosures raised questions that it hadn't been able to ask.

• The judge and the DA: "Witnesses and their lawyers" used attorney-client privilege "to obfuscate and hide information that they believed would be damaging," Judge Curtis Farber said in dismissing the case. "These delayed disclosures revealed relevant information that the defense should have had the opportunity to explore in cross-examination of the People's witnesses," Ginandes wrote.
• The defendants: They are three well-established figures in the collectibles world: rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi, and rock memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski.
• Next steps: Said Inciardi, "The next step is building back our reputations." A Kosinski attorney said they would evaluate potential future legal moves, "given the judge's statements of serious concern about the veracity of the witnesses." He called the result "too little and too late," adding that prosecutors "got blinded by the fame and fortune of a celebrity."
• Henley's not happy: Per his lawyer, "Mr. Henley has once again been victimized by this unjust outcome. He will pursue all his rights in the civil courts."

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