Tom Sneddon Prosecutor Lashes Out At Media 22/07/2004 Santa Barbara county prosecutor Tom Sneddon Jr. has been pilloried in the media for his handling of criminal charges against global entertainment icon Michael Jackson. He has felt the barbs but bitten his tongue, only occasionally breaking his silence. But on a lazy summer morning in another country 2,000 kilometres away from home, Mr. Sneddon let loose with a tirade against the media and against lawyers who have criticized him. Sounding as if he were licking his wounds, he said yesterday at the National District Attorneys Association summer conference in Vancouver that he has not responded to incorrect information or misinformed comment in order to ensure a fair trial. Offering advice to prosecutors on handling high-profile cases, he cautioned against assuming the media would be fair. "They go with what they have to go with to beat the competition," he said. "It's a frenzy, driven by competition. Not a lot of rules apply." He suggested prosecutors (called district attorneys in the United States) hire public-relations firms if they are involved in high-profile cases. Mr. Sneddon also strongly advised them to obtain court orders prohibiting those involved in the case from speaking publicly. "We sent letters to some people saying we intended to call them as witnesses in order to keep them off TV," he frankly admitted. Mr. Sneddon has been the district attorney in Santa Barbara county since 1982. A decade ago, he spent more than a year investigating lurid allegations of sexual molestation against Mr. Jackson after a youngster claimed Mr. Jackson had sex with him several times during a five-month relationship. The case ended abruptly in 1994 after Mr. Jackson reportedly reached a $15.3-million (U.S.) settlement with the boy's parents. After the investigation was suspended, Mr. Jackson wrote a song apparently about Mr. Sneddon. The lyrics for D.S. on Mr. Jackson's HIStory album say "Dom Sheldon" is a cold man out to get him dead or alive. "He out shock in every single way. He'll stop at nothing just to get his political say." Sheldon has been widely described as a pseudonym for Mr. Sneddon. Some say it sounds as if Mr. Jackson actually says "Sneddon" in the song. Source: The Globe  Media Argues Against Jackson Secrecy 21/07/2004 Michael Jackson wants "a celebrity exception to the First Amendment" which will keep much of his child molestation case secret, a media lawyer argued in a motion filed Tuesday. Theodore Boutrous Jr., answering a defense motion defending secrecy and deriding press coverage, accused Jackson's lawyers of engaging in a "misguided tirade" against the press while displaying "insensitivity to basic First Amendment values." Boutrous challenged Jackson's claim that he wants the same rights as other defendants. "What he is really seeking is a blanket celebrity exception to the First Amendment that would turn the notion of public access upside down," said Boutrous, who represents a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press. Boutrous was responding to a vitriolic motion filed by the defense Monday which portrayed reporters as voyeurs with no legitimate interests in covering the court system. "The interest in this case is more voyeuristic and entertainment related than it is an interest of an audience concerned with matters of government or public affairs," the motion said. The defense urged the California 2nd District Court of Appeal to refuse a media request for an expedited hearing and perhaps delay the entire issue of press access until the trial is over. Boutrous responded that the media "are not seeking to create a 'circus' ... but rather are simply trying to report on official judicial records and proceedings." "As the official record stands right now," Boutrous said, "the public does not even know the actual allegations that form the basis of the felony indictment." Grand jury transcripts detailing the case against Jackson are sealed along with search warrants, a motion to suppress evidence and most of the motion to dismiss charges. In a surprising move, the trial judge, represented by the Santa Barbara County counsel, filed a motion of his own arguing that the public already knows everything it needs to know about the case and keeping the rest secret is the way to give Jackson a fair trial. "The public may know little more about the facts of this case than that Mr. Jackson has been indicted on serious charges and that a jury will be asked to consider the evidence that may be presented to it and determine his guilt or innocence based upon that evidence," the brief said. "But that's how to ensure a fair trial," it concluded. The argument repeated one made earlier by the prosecution in its own attack on allowing press coverage. The brief filed for Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville claimed that an expedited hearing would not allow enough time for issues to be "fully developed and briefed" before the September trial date. Boutrous said there would be no added burden in expediting the appeal because transcripts of all hearings have already been produced. Source: Associated Press

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