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Cost of Jackson trial reaches $2.7 million
Judge orders pop star's items returned
By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The taxpayer bill for the county's unsuccessful prosecution of Michael Jackson in his marathon child molestation trial is at $2.7 million and climbing.
That amount is primarily for posting sheriff's deputies at the Santa Maria courthouse for pretrial hearings, which began in January 2004, through the 14-week trial that ended in June with a not guilty verdict.
These costs do not include any investigative, grand jury, prosecutorial or other expenses related to the criminal proceeding, Jette Christiansson, business manager for the County Executive Office, said in a statement.
Jason Stilwell, the project manager, said most of the $2.7 million was for security and crowd control. The District Attorney's Office may provide a separate tally to the county's budget department, but Mr. Stilwell said he was not specifically tracking any other costs for the case.
JoAnn Slattery, the district attorney's business manager, was unavailable for comment.
Mr. Jackson was acquitted on June 13 of four counts of child molestation, four counts of administering alcohol to a minor to commit a felony, one count of attempted molestation and one count of conspiracy.
The prosecution's case included the testimony of 90 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits. On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville granted the defense's request that the District Attorney's Office and Sheriff's Department return items seized from Mr. Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch and other locations. This material includes videotapes, audiotapes, books, magazines, documents and other items.
"This case is over," defense lawyer Stephen Dunkle stated in his request. "Law enforcement is merely holding the seized materials for the court and has no independent right of possession.
"The District Attorney claims that certain items 'may have relevance in the event of another investigation' as a justification for not releasing seized property," Mr. Dunkle stated. "There is no legal authority to support this argument."
Judge Melville ruled that items not introduced as evidence should be returned immediately. Those that were used as exhibits will be temporarily kept by the court to give the media an opportunity to copy or review the material. The items would then be released to their owners.
In contrast to the hundreds of reporters from around the world who attended the trial, only a couple from Santa Maria were present for the hearing on Thursday morning.
Mr. Dunkle also asked the court to return material seized from Mr. Jackson during a failed 1993 child molestation investigation against the entertainer, including a photograph taken by law enforcement officers of the pop star's genitals.
But Judge Melville declined to consider the issue because a judge had ruled previously that the material be kept in a secret safe-deposit box.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Gerald Franklin stated in his motion that the prior order limits access to the security box.
"There they have remained, hidden from the world, to this day," Mr. Franklin stated. "And there they should remain."
E-mail Dawn Hobbs at dhobbs@newspress.com.
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