Jackson Attorneys To Get Court Documents

Jackson Attorneys To Get Court Documents POSTED: 4:00 PM PST January 13, 2004 SANTA BARBARA — Michael Jackson’s lawyer will be given copies of search warrants, affidavits and tape recordings under seal from the press and public in the child molestation case against the singer, a judge ruled Tuesday. Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville, who will preside over Jackson’s arraignment on Friday, said he was releasing the material for review by attorney Mark Geragos and that they remain under seal. Media outlets, including The Associated Press, have filed motions demanding release of the material as a public record. Geragos had said he could not respond to the media motions because he had not seen the materials in question. “I could not take a position when I didn’t know what was in there,” Geragos said in a phone interview. He said he would decide his position on the media requests after reviewing the material. The judge’s two-page ruling did not indicate what might be contained in the tape recordings but said that a written transcript would be turned over to Geragos rather than the tapes themselves. He specified that everything must be kept secret until he holds a hearing on the matter Friday at the same court session in which Jackson is to be arraigned on charges. Jackson is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on child molestation charges in the Santa Barbara County city of Santa Maria. On Monday, Melville ruled that cameras would not be permitted in the courtroom during the arraignment. The judge also has agreed to hear arguments then on a bid by the district attorney’s office to impose a gag order on all participants in the trial to prevent them from talking to the press. Jackson is charged with seven counts of performing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14 and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent, reportedly wine. He is free on $3 million bail pending his arraignment. Jackson has maintained his innocence. Source: http://www.ktvu.com/news/2762764/detail.html