AK,AK,货货货:Jackson Prosecutor Aims to Clarify Remarks Fri Jul 23,10:38 PM ETBy LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson (news)'s prosecutor, stung by criticism of his remarks at a district attorneys' conference, said Friday he has never used his power inappropriately to prevent people from talking publicly about court cases.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he was not talking about the Jackson case, which would be a violation of a gag order. But he said he felt compelled to clarify remarks that have set off a storm of controversy. "We have never ever sent a letter to someone telling them that they were under a gag order and not subpoenaed them and not had them testify," Sneddon said. The uproar came after the Globe and Mail in Canada reported that Sneddon had addressed a conference of the National District Attorneys Association this week and said he had notified people that they were witnesses in order to keep them from talking on TV. "We sent letters to some people saying we intended to call them as witnesses in order to keep them off TV," Sneddon was quoted as saying in his appearance at the conference. The district attorney said Friday his remarks were taken out of context. He also said he understood he was speaking at a "training session" which would not be covered by the press. Sneddon said he was part of a panel that included Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazleton, who handled the Scott Peterson (news - web sites) case, and Fairfax County, Va., prosecutor Bob Horan, who handled the sniper prosecutions in Virginia, as well as Canadian prosecutors working on a high-profile criminal case stemming from the 1985 crash of an Air India flight off Ireland. He acknowledged he had cautioned prosecutors not to expect the press to be fair, but he reiterated that his remarks about sending gag order letters to witnesses was misinterpreted. "We've never used that as a way to shut people up and keep them from talking," said Sneddon. "I would have to be criminally dumb to get up and say that. I may have some failings but that's not one of them." Sneddon called an Associated Press reporter after his remarks were widely reported. Other California attorneys had suggested Sneddon was advocating unethical conduct and should be investigated by the state Bar Association. Sneddon has been criticized by the Jackson defense for personally conducting surveillance of a private investigator's office in the case. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to molesting a boy and other charges. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Media Argue Against Jackson Secrecy Fri Jul 23,10:46 PM ETBy LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent LOS ANGELES - A media lawyer urged an appellate court Friday to "lift the veil of secrecy" surrounding details of Michael Jackson (news)'s child molestation case and unseal hundreds of documents kept secret by the judge.
In a 50-page appeal filed with the state 2nd District Court of Appeal, attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. asked the court not to allow special rules of secrecy for celebrity defendants. "To find a substantial probability of prejudice here would allow every celebrity defendant to argue an indictment should be sealed so the world will not learn of his or her alleged bad acts. There is no support for such a radical new exception to the First Amendment," Boutrous said. He filed the appeal in spite of efforts by the prosecution, the defense and the judge to prevent it from going forward on an expedited basis. All of them filed briefs seeking a delay. The appeal argued that the trial judge has violated the First Amendment and the California Constitution by sealing most documents and imposing a sweeping publicity gag order. Boutrous, who represents a coalition of media organizations including The Associated Press, said that many of the rulings by Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville were based merely on the fact that Jackson is "a celebrity defendant" and "a figure recognized around the world." He said the judge's rulings, if allowed to stand, would create special laws for celebrity cases. "Based on the intense public and media interest in this case, the trial court has created a categorical secrecy rule applicable only to this case," Boutrous said. The judge has suggested that release of information will make it impossible to find an unbiased jury for Jackson's trial. Boutrous referred to a long history of legal precedents, including those in celebrity cases, that support the principle that court records should be presumed open. "The trial court has reversed the presumption in this case, and established a presumption of secrecy that cannot be tolerated," he said. Boutrous urged the appellate justices to unseal hundreds of pages, including the entire indictment. "As a result of the trial court's approach, the public has very little official information about the specific nature of the charges against Mr. Jackson, Mr. Jackson's grounds for dismissing them, or the prosecutor's defense to Mr. Jackson's claims," the appeal said. Late Friday, Melville released heavily redacted versions of some documents, including one in which prosecutors opposed the defense motions to dismiss the charges. In one document, the prosecutors referred to Jackson's alleged co-conspirators as "his henchmen," "his hirelings," and "thugs." But none of them is identified by name. The document suggests the prosecution case will focus on an alleged conspiracy on Jackson's behalf designed to minimize damage done to him by a video broadcast on TV showing Jackson holding hands with the boy who would subsequently accuse him of molestation. The brief refers to a plan to "isolate the (blank) family and secure the cooperation of its members." The brief argues that, "The evidence demonstrates prompt, coordinated action by those most intimately associated with defendant in his business and professional life to mitigate the public relations disaster that had befallen him." After a blacked-out line, it continues, "Who if not defendant authorized and quarterbacked the team effort on his behalf?" Whole pages of the brief are blacked out, including more than 20 pages that list the overt acts allegedly committed in the conspiracy and the evidence that supports them. 能不能接,说一声 |