Judge Melville asked to rule on Sneddon
By The Record Staff
8/3/04 Michael Jackson requested that the judge in his child molestation case decide if Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon violated a gag order by making comments at a prosecutor's convention in Canada, according to court documents released Monday.
Citing an article published by a Canadian newspaper, Jackson's defense attorneys accused Sneddon of violating the order, which bans parties in the case from speaking about the case.
According to the article, Sneddon told attendees at the National District Attorneys Association conference that his office "sent letters to some people saying we intended to call them as witnesses in order to keep them off TV."
Defense attorneys also accused Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen of violating the gag order when he denied to another newspaper that Sneddon commented on the case.
Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville may rule on the issue during an Aug. 16 hearing.
Jackson, 45, has pleaded not guilty to engaging in lewd acts with an unnamed boy under the age of 14 on four occasions between Feb. 20 and March 12, 2003, and four counts of "administering an intoxicating agent" -- reportedly wine -- to help him with the alleged molestations.
He also has pleaded not guilty to a conspiracy charge involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion and a count of attempted child molestation.
:nav Source: http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2004/...news/news20.txt
By The Record Staff
8/3/04 Michael Jackson requested that the judge in his child molestation case decide if Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon violated a gag order by making comments at a prosecutor's convention in Canada, according to court documents released Monday.
Citing an article published by a Canadian newspaper, Jackson's defense attorneys accused Sneddon of violating the order, which bans parties in the case from speaking about the case.
According to the article, Sneddon told attendees at the National District Attorneys Association conference that his office "sent letters to some people saying we intended to call them as witnesses in order to keep them off TV."
Defense attorneys also accused Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen of violating the gag order when he denied to another newspaper that Sneddon commented on the case.
Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville may rule on the issue during an Aug. 16 hearing.
Jackson, 45, has pleaded not guilty to engaging in lewd acts with an unnamed boy under the age of 14 on four occasions between Feb. 20 and March 12, 2003, and four counts of "administering an intoxicating agent" -- reportedly wine -- to help him with the alleged molestations.
He also has pleaded not guilty to a conspiracy charge involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion and a count of attempted child molestation.
:nav Source: http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2004/...news/news20.txt