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  Judge to Rule on Hiring New Consultant

KOLD [Tucson AZ]
April 19, 2005

TUCSON, Ariz. Lawyers representing potential future claimants of priestly sexual abuse may have swayed the judge in the Tucson Catholic Diocese's bankruptcy proceedings.

Lawyers asked bankruptcy Judge James Marlar to let them hire consultants to estimate the number of potential abuse victims.

The judge says he'll rule in the next day or so whether to allow attorneys representing abused unknown future claimants and unknown minors to hire two child sexual abuse experts from Phoenix.

They would estimate how many of those victims likely would come forward.

Marlar previously rejected a request to hire a California consultant as too costly, but now says this might be the best and least costly way to proceed.

Lawyer Susan Boswell representing the diocese says she believes only about 43 of 102 sexual abuse claims filed by last Friday's deadline may be valid.

Meanwhile, the judge says it's premature to include the diocese's 75 parishes as part of the diocese's property in determining a pool of money that will be available for settlement.