Jackson prosecutor has courtroom showdown
By Norma Meyer
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
6:49 p.m. August 16, 2004
Associated Press
SANTA MARIA — In a high-drama showdown, Michael Jackson, dressed with his family members in symbolic good-guy white, watched Monday as his attorney grilled the combative top prosecutor who has pursued the singer in two child molestation cases over 11 years.
Although his five siblings could be heard snickering at times, Jackson, who arrived at the courthouse in a customized gold double-decker bus, sat virtually motionless during the three-hour questioning of Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon. Jackson wrote a song about Sneddon calling him "a cold man" after the prosecutor unsuccessfully sought child molestation charges against him in 1993.
The stakes in this ongoing pre-trial hearing are big. Defense lawyers claim Sneddon violated Jackson's attorney-client privilege when detectives raided the office of a Beverly Hills investigator who worked for the pop star's former attorney, Mark Geragos. If the judge rules that the evidence was illegally seized and throws it out, the prosecution's child-molestation case could be crippled.
As attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. tried to chip away at Sneddon's testimony, the hard-nosed veteran prosecutor — who has earned the nickname "Mad Dog" from colleagues — became testy. Sneddon refused to admit he was suspicious that private investigator Bradley Miller was working for Geragos, even though he acknowledged seeing letters with both men's names involving the mother of Jackson's young accuser. Often, he refused to give an inch — he would not concede, for example, that police "read documents" they came across during the search that led to a storage locker in Miller's name; instead, he asserted they "found information" at the search that tipped them off.
"Mr. Sneddon, I'm going to ask you not to spar with the attorney," Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville admonished at one point.
Sneddon also raised courtroom eyebrows when he explained why he admitted to the defense team, in a phone conversation last month, that he knew about the relationship between Miller and Geragos before the November 2003 search and would testify under oath about it. Sneddon called the defense the next day and retracted his statement.
During questioning by one of his own prosecutors Monday, Sneddon blamed the error on fatigue from driving since 5 a.m. and anger over the fact that his assistants were late preparing a court brief in the case. He said he mistakenly "transposed" the relationship between Geragos and Jackson to Geragos and Miller. "It was a mistake born of being upset and being angry," he said.
Outside court, Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson said Sneddon was "playing the role of clueless prosecutor" who may have been confused but did nothing intentionally illegal. While a jury might roll their eyes at his testimony, she said a judge could be more inclined to find Sneddon's explanation plausible.
Jackson arrived with his family to the cheers of about 200 fans, who pressed up against a chain-link fence to get a glimpse of him flanked by sisters LaToya and Janet and flashing the victory sign with bandaged fingers. Among the crowd were two young brothers who held up a misspelled handmade sign that read: "If Micheal Jackson's Peter Pan Then Tom Sneddon Is Captain Hook."
Later, under a bodyguard's black umbrella, Jackson returned to eat lunch on the bus, which was parked in the courthouse lot and surrounded by sheriff's deputies. Once, he got off the bus and waved to the crowds.
As soon as Sneddon finished testifying in mid-afternoon, Jackson and his family reboarded the luxury coach as fans chanted "Get off the bus!" The bus left with a police escort. More witnesses are expected to testify today in the evidence hearing, which could last several days. WAGNER-CNS-SD-08-16-04
:nav Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/2...cnsjackson.html
By Norma Meyer
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
6:49 p.m. August 16, 2004
Associated Press
SANTA MARIA — In a high-drama showdown, Michael Jackson, dressed with his family members in symbolic good-guy white, watched Monday as his attorney grilled the combative top prosecutor who has pursued the singer in two child molestation cases over 11 years.
Although his five siblings could be heard snickering at times, Jackson, who arrived at the courthouse in a customized gold double-decker bus, sat virtually motionless during the three-hour questioning of Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon. Jackson wrote a song about Sneddon calling him "a cold man" after the prosecutor unsuccessfully sought child molestation charges against him in 1993.
The stakes in this ongoing pre-trial hearing are big. Defense lawyers claim Sneddon violated Jackson's attorney-client privilege when detectives raided the office of a Beverly Hills investigator who worked for the pop star's former attorney, Mark Geragos. If the judge rules that the evidence was illegally seized and throws it out, the prosecution's child-molestation case could be crippled.
As attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. tried to chip away at Sneddon's testimony, the hard-nosed veteran prosecutor — who has earned the nickname "Mad Dog" from colleagues — became testy. Sneddon refused to admit he was suspicious that private investigator Bradley Miller was working for Geragos, even though he acknowledged seeing letters with both men's names involving the mother of Jackson's young accuser. Often, he refused to give an inch — he would not concede, for example, that police "read documents" they came across during the search that led to a storage locker in Miller's name; instead, he asserted they "found information" at the search that tipped them off.
"Mr. Sneddon, I'm going to ask you not to spar with the attorney," Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville admonished at one point.
Sneddon also raised courtroom eyebrows when he explained why he admitted to the defense team, in a phone conversation last month, that he knew about the relationship between Miller and Geragos before the November 2003 search and would testify under oath about it. Sneddon called the defense the next day and retracted his statement.
During questioning by one of his own prosecutors Monday, Sneddon blamed the error on fatigue from driving since 5 a.m. and anger over the fact that his assistants were late preparing a court brief in the case. He said he mistakenly "transposed" the relationship between Geragos and Jackson to Geragos and Miller. "It was a mistake born of being upset and being angry," he said.
Outside court, Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson said Sneddon was "playing the role of clueless prosecutor" who may have been confused but did nothing intentionally illegal. While a jury might roll their eyes at his testimony, she said a judge could be more inclined to find Sneddon's explanation plausible.
Jackson arrived with his family to the cheers of about 200 fans, who pressed up against a chain-link fence to get a glimpse of him flanked by sisters LaToya and Janet and flashing the victory sign with bandaged fingers. Among the crowd were two young brothers who held up a misspelled handmade sign that read: "If Micheal Jackson's Peter Pan Then Tom Sneddon Is Captain Hook."
Later, under a bodyguard's black umbrella, Jackson returned to eat lunch on the bus, which was parked in the courthouse lot and surrounded by sheriff's deputies. Once, he got off the bus and waved to the crowds.
As soon as Sneddon finished testifying in mid-afternoon, Jackson and his family reboarded the luxury coach as fans chanted "Get off the bus!" The bus left with a police escort. More witnesses are expected to testify today in the evidence hearing, which could last several days. WAGNER-CNS-SD-08-16-04
:nav Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/2...cnsjackson.html