Team Jackson Seeks Secrecy

Michael Jackson's lawyers want to be starting something behind closed doors.

In court documents released Friday, Jackson's legal team asked Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville to close the courtroom for all pretrial hearings on what evidence will be allowed at the embattled entertainer's upcoming child-molestation trial, which is slated to begin on Jan. 31.

The defense proposed that said hearings be conducted in the judge's chambers, including proceedings on the prosecution's request to present evidence that Jackson allegedly committed other sex crimes over the years for which he was not charged.

The judge was expected to weigh in on the request at a Wednesday hearing.

The request infuriated media organizations already frustrated by the high levels of secrecy surrounding the case.

So far, Melville has sealed almost all documents relating to the case, including some 14,000 pages of evidence compiled by the prosecution. The few documents that have been released to date have been heavily censored with names and inflammatory details blacked out.

Both sides of the trial are bound by a gag order that prohibits all parties affiliated with the case from speaking about it publicly.

Attorney Theodore Boutrous, who represents a coalition of media organizations, said he planned to oppose the request to shut the public out of the trial, claiming that Team Jackson has not met the "extremely high" standards that would merit a closed hearing.

In a separate motion released Friday, Team Jackson argued that any evidence that the popster had committed past sex crimes was circumstantial at best and that it should be barred from the trial altogether.

"This is the same 'evidence' that left two separate grand juries so unimpressed with the prosecution's 'case' that they did not return indictments," Jackson lawyer Robert Sanger said in court documents released Friday.

The defense was also peeved over the fact that while Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon is alleging that Jackson committed at least seven prior sex crimes, he plans to produce only one witness.

"The District Attorney is alleging at least seven prior offenses, yet only one of the alleged victims is scheduled to testify," Jackson's attorneys said in a motion.

"In place of the alleged victims, the prosecution seeks to introduce the testimony of a collection of disgruntled former employees, paid tabloid informants and other disreputable informants."

Jackson's legal eagles argued that discussing their client's alleged sex-criminal past in an open courtroom could eventually unfairly influence the jury pool.

"The media coverage of this case is unprecedented, and it is certain that anything said in open court will be broadcast to any of the already summoned potential jurors," the defense stated in court documents.

In a motion released last month, the prosecution argued that Jackson's alleged prior sex crimes should be admissible under a 1995 California law that allows relevant, previous acts, whether prosecuted or not, to be considered in sex-crime cases.

Jackson stands charged with 10 felony counts ranging from child molestation to conspiracy. He has pleaded innocent to all charges and remains free on $3 million bail.

Last week, Jackson paused from preparing for his impending trial to issue a statement expressing his and his family's dismay over last month's tsunami and urging his friends and fans to contribute to relief funds.

"Words cannot adequately express the shock, horror and grief we've felt, while watching news reports which have captured the massive devastation and despair," Jackson wrote in his statement. "It has been especially painful for me, as I have visited these areas many times and I remember the love, kindness and warmth of the people I met there."