In a big win for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a Florida judge has ordered the suppression of secretly recorded massage parlor videos. That means the evidence can not be included as part of the trial proceedings, if there is a trial. Kraft’s attorneys will reportedly seek a dismissal of the case as early as tomorrow.

Kraft pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution, and activist groups and the lazy media rushed to convict the billionaire and figuratively send him to Devil’s Island. Although authorities initially engaged in a lot of saber rattling about human trafficking, they shortly thereafter abandoned any claims about sex slavery at area spas. It seems that instead of investigating and preventing serious crimes, cops voyeuristically surveilled area massage parlors for months where consenting adults voluntarily engaged in commerce.

The case also reveals the cluelessness of reporters, “journalists,” and sports pundits when it come to understanding rules of evidence.

As this blog previously suggested, cops likely lacked probable cause to stage a traffic stop on vehicle in which Kraft, 77, was a passenger. The judge also tossed out that evidence.

Related stories:

From ESPN:

“Prosecutors cannot use secretly recorded video allegedly showing New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft engaging in massage parlor sex, a judge ruled Monday, striking a serious blow to their case charging him with soliciting prostitutes. In his 10-page ruling, Judge Leonard Hanser wrote that Jupiter police detectives and the judge who issued the search warrant allowing the secret installation of cameras at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter did not do enough to minimize the invasion of privacy of other customers, some of whom only received legal massages.”

From CNBC:

“The videos are the key — and potentially only — pieces of evidence that Palm Beach County prosecutors have against Kraft to sustain their charges of soliciting prostitution. The judge also suppressed information that was gathered when a police officer stopped Kraft’s vehicle, because the evidence had been collected based on the warrant he deemed unlawful. Before an officer had stopped his car, law enforcement hadn’t identified the man in the video as Kraft.”

Prosecutors can appeal Judge Hanser’s decision. In the meantime, Robert Kraft is due back in court on May 21 for a pre-trial hearing, assuming the case is still on the active docket by then.

In what some deemed revenge porn, various news agencies sought public release of the Kraft footage. “Aside from greatly reducing the chances Kraft can even be prosecuted … the judge’s suppression ruling also means there’s almost no way the spa video will ever see the light of day. If it’s not legally obtained evidence … there’s no justification for releasing it to the public,” TMZ noted, however.

It still remains a possibility that a government employee could leak the video in exchange for a bribe or just to embarrass Kraft.

Check back for updates.

[Featured image: BrokenSphere, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 license.]