5:34am (UK) [b]Michael Jackson Challenges First Amendment [/b] Michael Jackson wants a celebrity exception to the First Amendment which will keep much of his child molestation case secret, a media lawyer has. Theodore Boutrous, answering a defence motion defending secrecy and deriding press coverage, accused Jacksons lawyers of engaging in a misguided tirade against the press while displaying insensitivity to basic First Amendment values. In the motion filed yesterday, Boutrous challenged Jacksons 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 organisations. Boutrous was responding to a motion filed by the defence 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 defence 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. Jackson, 45, is charged with committing a lewd act on a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. The 28 acts alleged to have occurred are sealed, as are the names of alleged co-conspirators. 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. [b]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 thats 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.[/b] Boutrous said there would be no added burden in expediting the appeal because transcripts of all hearings have already been produced. :nav Source: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3232516
Melville blasts Media as well
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