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Judge stands firm on Jackson secrecy
By SCOTT HADLY
NEWS-PRESS SENIOR WRITER
The judge presiding over the child molestation case against Michael
Jackson decided Friday to maintain the blanket of secrecy on the
proceedings.
Saying he had to balance the public's right to know with Mr. Jackson's
right to a fair trial, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville ruled
Friday to keep the extensive grand jury transcripts, 47 search warrants
and even many of the details of the criminal indictment sealed.
Mr. Jackson pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include the
alleged molestation, conspiracy to commit child abduction, false
imprisonment and extortion.
Friday's ruling came over the objections of Theodore Boutrous Jr.,
an attorney representing more than a dozen news organizations, including
the News-Press.
Mr. Boutrous argued that Judge Melville had gone too far, making
it impossible for the public or press to determine the appropriateness
of the case against the 45-year-old entertainer.
Motions in the case are almost automatically sealed, closed-door
hearings are held without public notice and so much information
is blacked out of the documents that are released that they are
impossible to understand, Mr. Boutrous said.
Even during the court proceedings, the effort to shield witnesses'
names, details of the evidence gathered and the nature of the alleged
crime required the attorneys to "talk in a secret speech code,"
he said.
"This overwhelming pressure for secrecy violates the First
Amendment," Mr. Boutrous said. "It's time to let the sun
shine in."
The exchanges between Mr. Boutrous and Judge Melville over secrecy
in the case produced Friday's most heated discussion. The judge
bristled at the suggestion that he was allowing the defense and
the prosecution to "manage" the case.
"I'm not going to let that go by," Judge Melville said.
"The court is trying to balance the First Amendment against
the right to a fair trial for Mr. Jackson."
That effort is complicated, the judge said, "when the individual
themselves is known around the world. That makes it very difficult
for that person to get a fair trial."
More than half of Friday's two-hour hearing was held in the judge's
chambers behind closed doors. Among the issues discussed were whether
the defense could subpoena witnesses without notifying the prosecution.
Also worked out were the circumstances under which defense experts
could examine one piece of evidence. What that evidence is was not
disclosed.
Mr. Jackson's defense team is working on two motions, one to throw
out the grand jury indictment and the other to suppress evidence
in the case. On July 9, the court will hear the motion to throw
out the indictment. The hearing on suppressing evidence is set for
Aug. 16. Judge Melville said that hearing could take several days
and include testimony from witnesses. Mr. Jackson may have to attend
that hearing, according to District Attorney Tom Sneddon.
After Friday's hearing, Mr. Boutrous said he expected that both
motions would likely be sealed and there would be an effort to keep
the hearings in August closed to the public.
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