BY GAIL EPSTEIN NIEVES

 Two Miami news organizations asked a judge Thursday for permission to examine
 evidence in the Cuban spy trial, while two defendants argued public access
 should be denied or limited while the case is in progress.

 At issue are many hundreds of documents, photographs, computer disks and
 personal belongings confiscated from the five men on trial. Prosecutors are using
 the items to prove their espionage case to the jury.

 The Herald, El Nuevo Herald and NBC 6 asked U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard to
 make the evidence available for examination and copying outside the jury's
 presence. Lenard held a two-hour hearing and said she would rule as soon as
 possible.

 Of particular interest: the contents of nearly 1,000 computer disks seized from the
 accused spies that contain communications between them and Cuban
 intelligence contacts. About 1,350 pages printed out in Spanish have been
 admitted into evidence but not yet shown to the jury. The English translation has
 not yet been admitted.

 The printouts and other court documents are by law public records that can be
 withheld only for compelling reasons, none of which exist, argued Susan Aprill --
 lawyer for The Herald and El Nuevo Herald -- and Karen Kammer, lawyer for
 NBC 6.

 Making the records available will help reporters tell their stories more accurately,
 Aprill said.

 Two defense lawyers disagreed. Joaquin Mendez, attorney for defendant Ruben
 Campa, argued that media reports on the evidence could inflame the community
 and taint jurors' deliberations. Paul McKenna, attorney for defendant Gerardo
 Hernandez, argued that the evidence should only be available for review after
 jurors see it.

 More than 100 exhibits have been admitted into evidence, and many hundreds
 more are expected, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Heck Miller.