Attorney: Law Gets Hot Under Collar At Deposition

BOSTON -- Friday marked Cardinal Bernard Cardinal Law's fifth day of deposition in the Rev. Paul Shanley civil case.

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Watch Amalia Barreda's Report

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda said that once again, the cardinal answered questions under oath, but he took on a very different tone, and at times, things got contentious.

Law's videotaped deposition began on June 5. Gregory Ford, 24, deposed by church attorneys last Tuesday, is among the six victims who claim that Shanley molested them when they were children. Shanley is in custody after pleading not guilty to child rape charges.

In portions of Law's deposition, he said that poor records kept him from knowing the full truth about the history of accusations that Shanley was a sexual predator.

The plaintiffs suing Law over the alleged sex abuse by Shanley said that Law raised his voice to one of the attorneys questioning him.

"He was yelling at Mr. MacLeish about certain things that Mr. MacLeish was only trying to get the answer to. At one point, I forget exactly the reference, but he said, 'Let's let the judge determine what goes on here.' So I think whether that statement was a fraudulent statement or not, maybe he is saying, 'Let's take this to trial,'" Ford's father, Rodney, said.

"We have retained our experts. We are one step closer to the trial," plaintiffs' attorney Jeffrey Newman said. "There are only about 10 major steps left to complete until we are ready to petition the court for a speedy trial."

In preparation for the trial, the plaintiffs have hired a California attorney who is said to be an experienced trial lawyer. There is no word on when the videotape of Friday's session is going to be released.

Law is scheduled to be questioned again on Wednesday.