Prosecutors in the child molestation case against Michael Jackson say they’ve turned over thousands of pages of documents and hundreds of audio- and videotapes generated during their investigation to the entertainer’s defense lawyers but have yet to receive anything in return.

So far, the prosecution has provided the defense with 12,425 pages of documents and reports, 193 CD-ROMS, 112 audiocassettes, 78 videotapes and more than 200 photographs, according to a court document released Thursday.

The motion from the prosecution comes after months of legal filings and courtroom complaints by defense lawyers that they have been receiving material piecemeal. But when prosecutors have asked defense lawyers for their material, they’ve been told each time the defense has none to provide.

“This case was filed almost one year ago,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss stated in his motion for discovery, the pretrial procedure by which each side gains access to certain information held by the other.

“Since that time, the defendant has hired six different law firms and employed at least 10 attorneys plus investigators to work on his behalf,” Mr. Auchincloss stated. “To represent at this late date that he has not identified a single witness or piece of evidence he intends to introduce at trial is simply not believable.”

The defense team contends that by law, it does not have to turn over material until 30 days before trial. The prosecution asserts the law compels both parties to disclose material “at least” 30 days prior to trial. This is the prosecution’s first request for Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville to order defense lawyers to turn over information they’ve developed in their investigation. The judge will take up the matter at the next hearing in the case, scheduled for Nov. 4.

The motion is the latest legal wrangling in the high-stakes case scheduled to start trial Jan. 31. The defense team — which includes four lawyers — also recently requested that the judge order the prosecution to turn over material, including the identities of informants and forensic material it still needs to have analyzed. The judge granted both defense motions.

Mr. Jackson, who is free on $3 million bail, pleaded not guilty in April to charges of committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

Judge Melville has repeatedly made it clear that he wants the trial to start on time.

Mr. Auchincloss noted in his motion that he has repeatedly requested information from the defense, the last time on Oct. 18.

“At that time, counsel for the defense, Robert Sanger, reiterated that the defense has no duty to provide discovery until 30 days before trial,” Mr. Auchincloss stated. “Apart from saying the defense would follow the law and would meet and confer with the prosecution, Mr. Sanger would not provide any information regarding defense discovery.”

Both sides must turn over the list of people they plan to call as witnesses; relevant written or recorded statements of witnesses or reports about the witness statements; and the results of any physical, mental or scientific examinations that will be used at trial.

Prosecutors must also provide the defense with defendant statements, seized evidence and all evidence favorable to the defendant.

Source: News Press

Archive | Subscribe to Comments (RSS 2.0)

Both comments and pings are currently closed.