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Media lawyer attacks secrecy in Jackson case
Calling on Court of Appeal to order documents be unsealed
By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
In a fight for information about the child molestation case against Michael Jackson, a media lawyer filed final papers Tuesday with the Second District Court of Appeal attacking the secrecy that has marked the high-profile case.
Theodore Boutrous, who represents several news organizations, criticized Mr. Jackson's lawyers and the judge for relying on "sweeping generalizations about the entertainer's celebrity status and right to a fair trial, and the privacy rights of the minors involved . . . to justify an unprecedented degree of secrecy."
Mr. Boutrous is calling for the Court of Appeal to reverse the decision of Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville and order that grand jury transcripts, the criminal indictment, search warrant affidavits and numerous other documents be unsealed with only the names of the alleged minor victim and his family blacked out. The state appellate justices are expected to hear oral arguments on the matter within the next couple of weeks.
The filing Tuesday is the latest push to gain access to material typically considered public. The stand-off between the media and the court underscores the tug of war between the right to a fair trial and the public's right to know. But Mr. Boutrous has argued that a balance can be struck that still ensures a fair trial, protects the alleged victim's privacy and affords the public its right to scrutinize its legal system.
From the onset, the Jackson case has been cloaked in secrecy with a gag order that prohibits lawyers from speaking with the media, secret grand jury proceedings and routinely sealed documents. Nearly a year after Mr. Jackson's arrest, the 82-page affidavit that supported his arrest and numerous searches have yet to be released.
Defense lawyers say the information should be kept out of public view to reduce prejudicial pretrial publicity. Mr. Jackson "is in the fight of his life for his liberty," according to a defense motion. Prosecutors have typically backed the sealing of documents and even requested that the judge issue the gag order, but they did not file a brief with the Court of Appeal.
Mr. Jackson pleaded not guilty in April to child molestation and conspiracy charges. The trial is scheduled for January.
The case documents that have been released are heavily censored and reveal little substantive information about the charges against Mr. Jackson or his defense against those charges -- barring the public from evaluating either. For example, seven pages describing allegations of conspiracy were blacked out of the indictment against Mr. Jackson, and more than 80 pages were deleted from public record in the defense lawyers' motion to dismiss the indictment.
"The California Supreme Court has made clear that secrecy cannot be justified by arguing that press coverage of a high-profile trial 'might' jeopardize the right to a fair trial," Mr. Boutrous stated in his 26-page brief. "Rather, the First Amendment and California law presume that openness will enhance fairness, and there is a heavy burden on those who seek to defeat that presumption."
The advocates for the secrecy must show that no less drastic alternatives exist, Mr. Boutrous said.
"The Supreme Court and Mr. Jackson's (lawyers) have failed
to satisfy these standards," he said. "And Mr. Jackson's
status as 'one of the most famous entertainment personalities in
the world' does not entitle him to an exception to the First Amendment
standards that govern in every other case."
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