Sneddon Did Not Violate Gag Order, Judge Rules

Santa Barbara County Dist. Atty. Tom Sneddon did not violate a gag order in the Michael Jackson case when he spoke last month at a prosecutors conference in Canada, a judge ruled Monday.

According to a Canadian newspaper, Sneddon said he sent warning letters to potential witnesses in the Jackson child-molestation case to keep them from talking to the media.

But the veteran prosecutor never said any such thing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Gordon Auchincloss argued in court Monday. He said his boss’ references to the Jackson case were “at the most oblique.”