But he said that the judge, Leonardo Valdivieso, never gave the parties access to the investigation report until the day he closed the case and withheld testimony and other evidence that could have advanced it.
The lawyers also charged that prosecutors withheld testimony about his actions on Feb. 14, 2002, when Mr. Christofi was shot during an impromptu tour of Mr. Williams's Alexandria Township estate.
In one case, Mr. Berlusconi is accused of bribing David Mills, a British corporate lawyer who had worked for him, to withhold testimony.
Mr. Berlusconi, who had denied wrongdoing, had been accused of bribing a British tax lawyer to withhold testimony to protect him.
ROME — A court in Milan is expected to rule Saturday in a criminal trial involving the former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who is accused of bribing a British tax lawyer to withhold testimony to protect him.
But it will also give the judges and prosecutors in Milan more time to focus on the case that Mr Berlusconi is said to fear most: one in which he denies bribing a British lawyer, David Mills, to withhold testimony that could have led to his conviction in an earlier trial.
The Independent, taking some delight, offers the best intro: "In a court hearing lasting less than one minute, David Mills, the tax lawyer, former Camden councillor amd estranged husband of Tessa Jowell, was sentenced to four and a half years in jail for taking 600,000 euros in exchange for withholding testimony that could have damaged the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi".
If it passes, the law is expected to end a trial that began in 2006 in which Mr. Berlusconi is accused of bribing a British lawyer, David Mills, in exchange for his withholding testimony.
The estranged husband of the Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, said he would appeal against the sentence for taking £400,000 as a reward for withholding court testimony to help Italy's prime.
In Denver, undercover detectives generally reveal their identities, but if to do so would put them in imminent danger, prosecutors might consider withholding their testimony, even at the cost of the case, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the district attorney there.
The extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia - which is designed to bring to account those most responsible for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge - has been stymied as senior government officials publicly refuse to "allow" certain prosecutions to proceed and withhold the testimony of witnesses Phnom Penh would rather not be heard.
