Jackson Squares Off With Attorney
11:31 AM EST - August 16, 2004
The Associated Press
SANTA MARIA, Calif.
Dozens of Michael Jackson's fans pressed against a chain-link fence outside court Monday, staking out viewing spots hours before the pop star was to arrive to face off against the prosecutor who has pursued him for years on child molestation charges.
Some fans hoisted signs reading "Our Love is With You" and "Michael Jackson is Innocent." A teenage girl wore a shirt reading "Mrs. Michael Jackson."
Though not required to attend, Jackson decided he wanted to be present for the confrontation with Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon. He was expected to have company in the courtroom, as well: his parents, Joseph and Katherine, and siblings including Janet, LaToya, Jermaine and Jackie.
On Sunday, Jackson made a surprise visit to Los Angeles' pre-eminent black church, First AME, wearing a dark blue velvet jacket with a gold armband on one sleeve.
During a meeting with about 35 Sunday school students, Jackson was asked by one girl if the children could visit Jackson's Neverland ranch, to which the pop star replied: "You're welcome to come anytime."
Monday's hearing was to focus on Sneddon's actions in the weeks before charges were filed in the child molestation case. The defense wants to show that Sneddon invaded the attorney-client privilege between Jackson and his former attorney when he conducted personal surveillance of a private investigator's office.
The investigator, Bradley Miller, was not in his Beverly Hills office when Sneddon went there and photographed the building and its roster of occupants.
Santa Barbara County sheriff's officials already have testified that they used a sledgehammer to break into Miller's office and seize videotapes and files relating to the Jackson case. They maintain that they did not know Miller was employed by Jackson's former attorney, Mark Geragos.
The defense says any materials seized from Miller's office should never see the light of day as evidence.
The seized materials are believed to be crucial to the prosecution case - among them, a videotape of Jackson's 12-year-old accuser and his family praising the singer's character.
Prosecutors claim the tape was made under duress, with Jackson holding the family prisoner at his Neverland ranch. Without the tape, a central theory of the case against Jackson would be severely undermined.
Jackson, 45, is charged with committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on $3 million bail.
Monday's hearing promised sparks, observers said.
"It's a faceoff between Jackson and Sneddon," said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola University law professor and former federal prosecutor. "And emotionally, it's a big moment in the case. This is high drama."
Ten years ago, Sneddon tried to build a child-molestation case against Jackson. But it fell apart when the singer's accuser reportedly accepted a multimillion-dollar civil settlement and refused to testify in any criminal case.
Prosecutors got a boost Sunday when word leaked that the state attorney general's office has concluded that Jackson was not "manhandled" by sheriff's deputies who took him into custody last year on the molestation charges, CBS News reported Sunday.
The findings were contained in a three-page letter Martin A. Ryan, chief of the attorney general's California Bureau of Investigation, sent to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Jim Anderson, CBS reported.
A spokesman for the attorney general did not immediately return a call for comment.
Jackson told CBS' "60 Minutes" last year that he was "manhandled" by sheriff's deputies who deliberately handcuffed him in a way they knew was "going to hurt" and that dislocated his shoulder. After he was taken to jail, he said, he was placed in a feces-smeared restroom for 45 minutes before being released.
By LINDA DEUTSCH AP Special Correspondent
:nav Source: http://www.xposed.com/headline_news/123_ds_842961.aspx
11:31 AM EST - August 16, 2004
The Associated Press
SANTA MARIA, Calif.
Dozens of Michael Jackson's fans pressed against a chain-link fence outside court Monday, staking out viewing spots hours before the pop star was to arrive to face off against the prosecutor who has pursued him for years on child molestation charges.
Some fans hoisted signs reading "Our Love is With You" and "Michael Jackson is Innocent." A teenage girl wore a shirt reading "Mrs. Michael Jackson."
Though not required to attend, Jackson decided he wanted to be present for the confrontation with Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon. He was expected to have company in the courtroom, as well: his parents, Joseph and Katherine, and siblings including Janet, LaToya, Jermaine and Jackie.
On Sunday, Jackson made a surprise visit to Los Angeles' pre-eminent black church, First AME, wearing a dark blue velvet jacket with a gold armband on one sleeve.
During a meeting with about 35 Sunday school students, Jackson was asked by one girl if the children could visit Jackson's Neverland ranch, to which the pop star replied: "You're welcome to come anytime."
Monday's hearing was to focus on Sneddon's actions in the weeks before charges were filed in the child molestation case. The defense wants to show that Sneddon invaded the attorney-client privilege between Jackson and his former attorney when he conducted personal surveillance of a private investigator's office.
The investigator, Bradley Miller, was not in his Beverly Hills office when Sneddon went there and photographed the building and its roster of occupants.
Santa Barbara County sheriff's officials already have testified that they used a sledgehammer to break into Miller's office and seize videotapes and files relating to the Jackson case. They maintain that they did not know Miller was employed by Jackson's former attorney, Mark Geragos.
The defense says any materials seized from Miller's office should never see the light of day as evidence.
The seized materials are believed to be crucial to the prosecution case - among them, a videotape of Jackson's 12-year-old accuser and his family praising the singer's character.
Prosecutors claim the tape was made under duress, with Jackson holding the family prisoner at his Neverland ranch. Without the tape, a central theory of the case against Jackson would be severely undermined.
Jackson, 45, is charged with committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on $3 million bail.
Monday's hearing promised sparks, observers said.
"It's a faceoff between Jackson and Sneddon," said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola University law professor and former federal prosecutor. "And emotionally, it's a big moment in the case. This is high drama."
Ten years ago, Sneddon tried to build a child-molestation case against Jackson. But it fell apart when the singer's accuser reportedly accepted a multimillion-dollar civil settlement and refused to testify in any criminal case.
Prosecutors got a boost Sunday when word leaked that the state attorney general's office has concluded that Jackson was not "manhandled" by sheriff's deputies who took him into custody last year on the molestation charges, CBS News reported Sunday.
The findings were contained in a three-page letter Martin A. Ryan, chief of the attorney general's California Bureau of Investigation, sent to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Jim Anderson, CBS reported.
A spokesman for the attorney general did not immediately return a call for comment.
Jackson told CBS' "60 Minutes" last year that he was "manhandled" by sheriff's deputies who deliberately handcuffed him in a way they knew was "going to hurt" and that dislocated his shoulder. After he was taken to jail, he said, he was placed in a feces-smeared restroom for 45 minutes before being released.
By LINDA DEUTSCH AP Special Correspondent
:nav Source: http://www.xposed.com/headline_news/123_ds_842961.aspx