U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled on several motions filed from both sides of the Sonics trial on Monday, including what the Sonics’ attorneys can and cannot present as evidence. As reported by The Seattle Times:

In her written ruling, Pechman said she would not restrict the team's ability "to determine which evidence it chooses to present" during the six-day trial.

This means that Sonics’ attorneys can introduce evidence of the time and money owner Clay Bennett spent in attempt to find a new arena deal in the Seattle area.

The Sonics’ attorneys will also be allowed to present evidence of “dysfunction” between the team and city officials, as well as a poll that suggests almost two-thirds of Seattle-area residents won’t care if the team relocates.

For the city of Seattle, National Book Award winner and Sonics season-ticker holder Sherman Alexie will be allowed to testify. Lawyers for the city claim Alexie can shed some light on the team’s importance in Seattle.

Mitch Levy, a local sports talk radio host will not be allowed to testify, since the city failed to claim him as a witness in the allotted time.

The trial is scheduled to begin on June 16. The city is seeking to keep the Sonics in Seattle in order to play out the remaining two seasons of the team’s KeyArena lease. Bennett, on the other hand, is pressing for a cash settlement so he can move the team to Oklahoma City. 

 For more on this issue, Read: 

• Sonics Owner: Team Would Lose $60M if it Stayed
• Sonics’ Lawyers Ask That Schultz Suit Be Dismissed
• City of Seattle Claims Sonics Have Intentionally Limited Team Exposure
• Two Damaging Emails From Sonics Minority Owner Deposition Conflict With Testimony
• Howard Schultz Claims Clay Bennett Breached Sonics Sale Contract

OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK

• Waxman Calls MLB Testimony on PEDs into Question - The Biz of Baseball
• Biz of Baseball Organizational Report - San Diego Padres - The Biz of Baseball
• Broadcasting Great, Part Owner Orioles, McKay Dead at 86 - The Biz of Baseball
• Barry Bonds Pleads Not Guilty to New Charges - The Biz of Baseball
• Study Finds Synthetic Turf Safe Under Normal Use - The Biz of Baseball
• Cowboys Stadium Site Allows Fans to View Their Seat Before They Buy Tickets - The Biz of Football
• Former NFL Steroids Dealer Found Shot to Death - The Biz of Football
• Cowboys, Bank of America Extend Sponsorship Deal - The Biz of Football
• Bucs TE Jerramy Stevens Suspended for Violating NFL’s Substance Abuse Policy - The Biz of Football
• SEE IT: Dancing with the Stars? Indy Car Driver Helio Castroneves Visits T.O. and the Cowboys - The Biz of Football
• SHOWTIME, and CBS Sports to Bring "Inside the NFL" to SHOWTIME in September - The Biz of Football
• New Cowboys Stadium to Feature NFL’s First Center-Hung Scoreboard - The Biz of Football
• NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey
• Post-Game Commentary from Babcock, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Osgood, Therrien, Crosby, Lemieux, Whitney, and Malkin - The Biz of Hockey
• TV Ratings for Decisive Game 6 of Stanley Cup Up Dramatically From Last Game 6 Played - The Biz of Hockey
• Red Wings Win Stanley Cup with 3-2 Win. NHL Sees Large Increase in Ratings for Series, and Increased Growth - The Biz of Hockey
• NHL.com Breaks All-Time Record for Number of Fans Consuming Streaming Video - The Biz of Hockey
• NHL Renews Agreement with Anheuser-Busch for Bud Light - The Biz of Hockey

Nick Kappel is a staff member for the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey.

He can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network's Author Profiles