| Journalists Fight Jackson Case Secrecy in Court
VENTURA, Calif. (Reuters) - Saying court-imposed secrecy surrounding the Michael Jackson trial violated "every principle of our democracy," a media lawyer asked a state appeals court on Wednesday to unseal key documents in the child molestation case.
Lawyers for Jackson and Santa Barbara County, where the 46-year-old pop star is on trial, argued Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville was justified in keeping evidence under wraps in order to assure fair proceedings in the face of overwhelming press attention.
A three-judge panel of the California 2nd District Court of Appeal did not immediately issue a ruling in the matter. The justices peppered Ted Boutrous, who represents 10 news organizations covering the trial, with questions over the difficulty of keeping a pristine jury pool in a case that has received worldwide news coverage.
"By the very nature of the person involved, if Mr. Jackson clears his voice it's going to make the front page of the Karachi Times," Justice Arthur Gilbert told Boutrous, suggesting secrecy might be called for under such conditions.
Boutrous agreed the Jackson trial, with its attendant sensational news coverage, required special measures to protect jurors but said Melville had gone too far in imposing a rule that all documents -- including the grand jury indictment -- should be sealed until he decided otherwise.
"Frankly, it goes against every principle of our democracy," to keep secret the details of the charges against Jackson when he is being put on trial by the government, Boutrous said.
Justice Steven Perren shot back the judge was "trying heroically" to balance the rights of a free press under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution with Jackson's rights to a fair trial under the Sixth Amendment.
Stephen Underwood, assistant county counsel for Santa Barbara, defended Melville's sealing orders, saying the judge faced a nearly "impossible" task in trying to protect the jury pool and adding, "The First Amendment is not absolute."
Jackson lawyer Robert Sanger said Melville intended to release much of the sealed material once a jury was seated in the case in the coming weeks, but he added the entertainer deserved equal treatment under the law.
"Mr. Jackson is not interested in secrecy but he does want to have a fair trial," Sanger said. "Mr. Jackson does not want to be treated any better than anyone else but he also doesn't want to be treated worse than anyone else."
Jackson is charged in a 10-count Santa Barbara County grand jury indictment with molesting a young boy at his Neverland Valley ranch and with conspiring to commit child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment. He has pleaded innocent.
The Santa Barbara County Superior Court released the answers to a questionnaire given to 250 potential jurors showing a majority had already heard about the case, underlining the difficulty the pop superstar faces in getting an impartial hearing.
Answers to jury questionnaires also showed about a quarter of those remaining in the jury pool had friends or family who knew Jackson, or knew someone who had visited the singer's Neverland ranch.
Jury selection is scheduled to resume in the case on Monday, after a one-week delay caused by the death of lead defense attorney Tom Mesereau's sister. | |
