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Judge issues gag order, does not unseal search
warrant documents
By SCOTT HADLY
NEWS-PRESS SENIOR WRITER
The judge in the Michael Jackson case imposed a gag order and refused
to unseal search warrant documents, despite opposition from attorneys
representing several news outlets.
Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville granted a prosecution motion
to impose the gag order and sealed all but the barest details in
a more than 80-page search warrant that led to the Nov. 18 raid
on the Neverland Valley Ranch.
"The judge's decisions today raises serious issues for the
First Amendment and California Law," attorney Theodore Boutrous,
who represented the media, said outside the courtroom. He said he
hadn't decided yet whether to appeal. The judge had also previously
barred photographers and video cameras from Friday's proceeding.
Mr. Boutrous said that issue could be reopened at a later time.
Contrasting the carnival atmosphere outside the Santa Maria Courthouse
Friday with the somber tone inside, Mr. Boutrous said limiting access
will only further distort public perception of the proceedings.
"Openness fosters public understanding of the process,"
he said in court. It allows people to judge for themselves the merits
of each side of the case. Arguing on behalf of NBC, CNN, CBS, Fox
News, Courtroom Television Network, The New York Times, the Los
Angeles Times, and the Santa Barbara News-Press, Mr. Boutrous also
said the search warrant had been improperly sealed, because there
was never a compelling justification given for the decision.
On Friday Mr. Boutrous said prosecutors had dropped their opposition
to unsealing the document, which includes not only the sworn affidavits
by investigators used to support the raid but also a list of materials
seized from the ranch, and from the home of a videographer in West
Hills and a private investigator's office in Beverly Hills.
But Judge Melville said there was a lot of sensitive material in
the search warrant and he would have to block out so much of it
that it wouldn't make sense and would only add confusion.
Defense attorneys said its release could prejudice a jury against
Mr. Jackson and that portions of it might violate the attorney-client
privilege.
Despite issuing a gag order, the judge did agree to a request by
defense attorney Mark Geragos to include a provision that would
allow attorneys the right to respond to unfounded rumors or errors.
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