dictionary

Blake's preliminary hearing pushed back to November

Blake's court hearing was brief Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Attorneys for actor Robert Blake and his co-defendant, Earle Caldwell, were successful Tuesday in pushing back a preliminary hearing for their clients to give them more time to sift through thousands of pages of discovery material in the case.

Prosecutors had planned to urge Judge Lloyd Nash to schedule a preliminary hearing within 10 days, arguing the defense has had ample time to look over much of the material. They contended state law requires full disclosure of discovery material to the defense only 30 days prior to the trial.

But Blake attorney Harland Braun and Caldwell attorney Arna Zlotnik claimed there are more than 7,000 pages of additional discovery material -- what police and prosecutors gather in the course of their investigation -- and more than 240 audio tapes they have yet to examine. The lawyers contended mid-November would be a more reasonable date for a preliminary hearing for the two defendants.

CNN NewsPass Video    •  Police video of Robert Blake's home   •  Blake arrested  MORE STORIES   •  Blake case attorneys at odds   •  Robert Blake: I'll be acquitted  EXTRA INFORMATION   •  PEOPLE.com: Cast as a Killer   •  Profile   •  Gallery   •  Timeline   •  FindLaw: People vs. Blake (PDF)  BLAKE CHARGES   •  Murder with special circumstances   •  Solicitation of murder (2 counts)   •  Murder conspiracy

The judge agreed Tuesday, saying due process requires giving both sides adequate time to prepare their cases.

"If that means going over every item, every document, every witness, every exhibit, then I'm not going to stand in the way of it," Nash said. "And whether it takes a little longer to do this case than it should, I'd rather see that happen then them being rushed."

To schedule a date before defense attorneys are ready, he said, would only create an issue for them to bring up on appeal. "Why create an appellate issue that's not necessary to create when we're only talking about another couple of months?"

The prosecution and defense teams then decided on November 13 as the acceptable date.

In court, Blake was sharply dressed in a navy pinstripe suit, white shirt, and thin blue tie. With his short white hair, no longer being dyed, he was bright-eyed and alert -- his only words being "Yes, sir" in answer to a question from the bench.

After the preliminary hearing, the actual trial probably will not begin until March or April. It is expected to last two to three months.

Meanwhile, in a jailhouse interview, Blake expressed confidence he will be acquitted on charges he murdered his wife, and he vowed to return someday to the acting profession.

In a 30-minute, off-camera interview Saturday with CNN's Larry King at the Los Angeles County Jail, the 68-year-old actor -- his hair now gray -- said he has faced worse conditions on location and in some of his dressing rooms during his decades-long Hollywood career.

Blake told King he was in "infantry mode" and that, despite facing murder and conspiracy charges, "My glass is three-quarters full." He said his time in what he termed a "cement wilderness" is a passing phase.

Blake said his toddler daughter, Rose -- his child with the woman he is accused of killing, Bonny Lee Bakley -- is scheduled to visit him next week. It will be the first time he has seen her since being arrested in April in connection with the slaying of Bakley, who was shot in the head in front of a Studio City restaurant in July 2001.

Contrary to media reports, Blake said, his sixth-month marriage to Bakley was not terrible, though he did not fully know her background because her stories changed "every day." He said he had no motive to murder her because, if he had wanted to, he could have simply separated from her and gotten legal custody of Rose.

Blake said he decided to try to make the marriage work for his daughter's sake.