Mahony strategy backfires

From THE BOSTON GLOBE ...

The clergy abuse litigation in Los Angeles is the largest such litigation that remains unsettled nationwide -- and that, too, increases pressure on Mahony and the archdiocese, said Marci Hamilton, a professor at Cardozo Law School at New York City's Yeshiva University who consults with plaintiffs on constitutional law.

''The handwriting is on the wall," she said. ''I think what's going on is the Los Angeles Archdiocese knows that it's either settlement or very extensive trials with extensive damages. They're trying to manage the crisis by releasing these descriptions. Then they have deflated some of the news coverage at that point."