Michael Jackson grand jury cloaked in secrecy
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-30 11:38

A grand jury heard testimony on Monday in the child molestation case against pop star Michael Jackson, though few details were disclosed and even its location was a closely guarded secret.

A grand jury began hearing testimony on March 29, 2004 in the child molestation case against pop star Michael Jackson, though few details were disclosed, and even its location was a closely guarded secret. Among the witnesses expected to testify were the boy who accused Jackson of molesting him and his brother as well as a child psychologist who counseled Jackson's current accuser and a boy who made similar accusations against the singer in 1993. Jackson is shown in a Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department booking mug November 20, 2003. [Reuters]

Among the witnesses expected to testify during the proceedings, which could last several weeks, were Jackson's young accuser, his brother and a child psychologist at the center of the case.

Meanwhile lawyers for news organizations asked an appeals court to stay a sweeping order by the presiding judge for Santa Barbara County that restricts the activities of reporters and photographers outside of the courthouse.

Though the existence of a grand jury in the Jackson case has been widely reported, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon has gone to great lengths to keep reporters from covering the proceedings.

Camera crews and reporters crisscrossed Santa Barbara County hunting for the grand jury, which did not show up at the main courthouse after the secrecy-minded Sneddon had the proceedings moved into hiding in a bid to foil the press.

A spokeswoman for Sneddon confirmed that a grand jury had been convened but said she could not discuss the matter further because the proceedings were confidential under state law.

Attorneys for Jackson, 45, declined to comment. The self-proclaimed "King of Pop" was not expected to take the witness stand in front of the grand jury.

Ted Boutrous, an attorney for nine news organizations, asked the state's 2nd District Court of Appeals to stay an order by Superior Court Judge Clifford Anderson restricting the activities of reporters covering the grand jury.

Anderson has said he would consider arguments from the media over the restrictions at a hearing set for Thursday, but Boutrous filed an appeal because, he said, "time is of the essence" in the case of proceedings that are already underway.

"While there is a tradition of grand jury secrecy, the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized that it must be balanced against other constitutional rights, including the First Amendment rights of the press," Boutrous said. "Here the proceedings have been taken to a new level of secrecy that we believe contradicts California law and the First Amendment."

Jackson is charged with seven counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and two counts of plying the boy with alcohol in order to seduce him. The self-proclaimed "King of Pop" has pleaded innocent.

A hearing on procedural matters in the case is scheduled for Friday. Jackson was not expected to attend.