Pete Rose contends he cannot get a fair hearing from baseball commissioner A. Barlett Giamatti, and Giamatti indicates he cannot get one in Rose's hometown of Cincinnati.
Lawyers for Giamatti asked U.S. District Judge John D. Holschuh on Wednesday to deny the request of the Cincinnati Reds manager to send his legal battle with baseball back to Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.Rose's lawyers now have until noon Monday to file a response to baseball's memorandum.
Lawyers for baseball argued that the commissioner long ago was established as an independent authority with exclusive powers to investigate allegations of gambling and to take appropriate action.
"Courts of the United States have uniformly recognized the power of the Commissioner to investigate, determine, and punish conduct he judges is `not in the best interests of the national game of Baseball,' " the memo stated.
It described gambling as the capital crime of baseball that infects the game's integrity.
"To police this potentially devastating crime, baseball long ago established an independent, autonomous authority - the Commissioner of Baseball - with sweeping and exclusive powers to investigate allegations of gambling and to take appropriate remedial and punitive action," it said.
Rose is trying to block Giamatti from holding a hearing on gambling allegations. Baseball's career hits leader could be banned from the game for life if he is found to have wagered on the Reds.
Rose, who contends he cannot get a fair hearing from Giamatti, was granted a temporary restraining order by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Norbert Nadel in Cincinnati on June 25 to block the hearing.
Baseball lost an appeal in the 1st Ohio District Court of Appeals in Hamilton County, and then sought to move the matter into federal court in Cincinnati. The case was sent to Columbus.
"In this case, as (federal) Judges (Carl) Rubin and (Herman) Weber stated in their order transferring this matter to the Eastern Division at Columbus, the plaintiff is `not just another litigant' but an individual of `national reputation closely identified with the Cincinnati Reds and the City of Cincinnati,' " the memo said.
"Because of the extraordinary renown of the plaintiff in Cincinnati, and the daunting publicity this matter has received, the case was transferred to this court sitting in another city in order to assure a fairer environment," baseball said in a 110-page response to Rose's motion.
The memo said it appears the federal court judges in Cincinnati believed that severe local prejudice justified transfer of the case.