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Judge, DA spar over Jackson case's pace
Melville wants trial to start in January
By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Clashing over the pace of the investigation in the Michael Jackson case, District Attorney Tom Sneddon argued Thursday he is still developing leads to pursue while Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville warned him that he wants the trial to start in January.
Judge Melville told the prosecutor he is "under the gun"and instructed him to turn over forensic evidence and other items to the defense team so Mr. Jackson's lawyers can prepare for trial.
The tense exchange occurred in a pretrial hearing to consider a defense motion questioning the legality of law enforcement searches of a private investigator's office and Mr. Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch.
Thursday's session in Santa Maria was the sixth day of the hearing, which started last month. The accuser's mother, identified as "Jane Doe,"is scheduled to take the stand today, and Mr. Jackson plans to be there with his family to watch his lead lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, question her.
Judge Melville and Mr. Sneddon sparred Thursday about the speed of the investigation.
"My fear is that you're going to dump a huge quantity of material on the defense at the last minute. These charges were filed a long time ago, and I'd think you'd be ready for trial by now,"Judge Melville said.
Mr. Sneddon responded: "I'm not going to apologize to the court for asking for more warrants be issued for stuff developed out of leads since the beginning of the investigation. I can't tell you I'm going to stop pursuing things I need to pursue."
The judge snapped: "Even if that goes on for two to three years!"
Mr. Sneddon insisted: "I have a client to defend.... I can't
tell you I'm going to stop asking for warrants until it's appropriate,
but I will get material lickety-split to the defense."
Mr. Sneddon's office recently received approval for 20 new search warrants.
The judge's warning came after defense co-counsel Steve Cochran pointed out the prosecution has had charges filed since December, continues to investigate the case and has been sitting on material for 10 months that the defense will only have four months to examine.
Mr. Jackson pleaded not guilty to child molestation and conspiracy charges from a grand jury indictment in April. Trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 31, 2005.
In another development, the defense on Thursday filed a response to media attorney Theodore Boutrous' appeal to unseal many of the records in the case, saying the information should be kept out of public view to ensure the singer receives a fair trial.
Mr. Jackson "is in the fight of his life for his liberty," according to the defense motion.
Today's testimony by Ms. Doe may be crucial to the defense argument that the raid of private investigator Bradley Miller's office was illegal because Mr. Sneddon knew he worked for Mr. Jackson's former counsel, Mark Geragos. Judge Melville will decide if the search violated attorney-client privilege and if the material seized would be inadmissible.
A prosecution request for the judge to limit Mr. Mesereau's questioning of Ms. Doe was released late Thursday, charging that Mr. Mesereau's questioning "promises to be gratuitously nasty."
"It is expected that defense attorneys will attempt to engage
in intensive cross-examination of Jane Doe, covering all aspects
of her life over the last ten years or beyond, in an effort to show
that she is lying ... that in fact she knew of the Geragos/Miller
connection and that she conveyed that information to law enforcement,"Senior
Deputy District Attorney Gerald Franklin stated in the document.
"Defense attorneys should not be allowed to aggressively cross-examine
a witness on entirely collateral matters under any circumstances."
Over Mr. Sneddon's objection, the judge said he is likely to grant a defense request that prosecutors turn over material generated during a 1993 child molestation investigation against Mr. Jackson, but he will hear arguments today before making a decision.
Mr. Cochran stated in a motion filed Sept. 3 that material from the old case should be turned over because "the prosecution has relied on information from that case in this case"and Mr. Jackson has a right to exculpatory evidence.
Disagreeing with the judge's preliminary position, Mr. Sneddon said: "There is no indication yet that evidence from that case will be used in this case. Until that decision is made, that material is highly confidential."
Charges were never filed in that case, which crumbled when the accuser refused to testify after his family accepted a multimillion-dollar civil settlement from Mr. Jackson.
The defense contends authorities violated a warrant by searching areas of Neverland not listed on the document. Deputies maintain they went into the private office because that room had been used as a security office in 1993.
On Thursday, Sgt. Ross Ruth testified that he didn't believe Mr. Jackson's maid when she told him during the raid that the room was the entertainer's private office. Defense co-counsel Robert Sanger displayed photos from the 1993 raid and played a DVD of the recent one in the courtroom that showed the security office, which has a bulletin board with patrol assignments, radio chargers, flashlights and staff lockers, and Mr. Jackson's office, which is decorated with Jackson Five photographs and numerous life-sized mannequins, including Spider-Man, Bruce Lee and a butler and security guard.
The defense asserts that material seized from Mr. Jackson's office, a video library and a private apartment, which are in the same building as the security office, should be tossed out because deputies lacked authority to be there. The prosecution maintains the search was lawful.
Closing arguments will be heard today on the Neverland raid and the search of the private investigator's office.
Also today, Mr. Mesereau is expected to issue a statement from
Mr. Jackson responding to a leaked video showing a law enforcement
interview with the accuser's mother from the current case. He may
also respond to a new book, written by the uncle of the boy who
accused Mr. Jackson in 1993, which Mr. Mesereau charges is full
of "falsities."
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