Lawyers Call Cameras ‘Vital’ in Jackson Case

Asking a Santa Barbara County judge to reconsider his ruling banning cameras from the courtroom during Michael Jackson’s arraignment on child molestation charges, media lawyers said Wednesday that live coverage of the event is “vital” to show the public what really happens in the courtroom.

The appeal by attorney Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. came just one day after Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville ruled against allowing television cameras or still photographers in the Santa Maria courtroom where the proceeding is to be held Friday morning.

Boutrous argued first that there is no substitute for live broadcast in the modern age to assure the public that standards of fairness are being observed by the criminal justice system. Cameras are even more important in high-profile cases that provoke intense scrutiny, he wrote.

Among the 19 reasons Melville had cited in making his decision were keeping witnesses from being influenced by seeing earlier testimony and preserving the dignity of the court. He also cited the need to maintain orderly conduct and protect the alleged minor victim and other minors who might testify in the case.

Boutrous countered that modifying the order to allow one TV camera and one still photographer in the courtroom would contribute to an orderly and dignified trial, saying it would “ease the pressure and intensity of people seeking to enter the courtroom” on Friday morning.

“Thousands of citizens have indicated their intent to attend the arraignment hearing in support of Mr. Jackson,” he wrote, adding that allowing television coverage would relieve the potential pressure to get into the courtroom, thereby promoting orderly conduct and easing security concerns.

Jackson’s arraignment on seven felony charges of child molestation and two felony charges of using an intoxicant to help seduce a child will give the entertainer his first chance to formally deny that any such acts took place.

In addition to motorcades from Los Angeles and elsewhere, more than 100 media organizations are planning to cover the arraignment.

Melville also will be hearing motions from media attorneys to unseal the initial arrest and search warrants and affidavits in the case. They also will ask him to allow lawyers and other parties to provide reasonable comment on events as they transpire during the case, modifying a gag order proposed by the prosecution.

While lawyers, security personnel and courthouse officials prepared for the arraignment, attorney Gloria Allred urged the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services to immediately remove Jackson’s three children from his custody, considering the nature of the charges against him.

Jackson has moved from his Neverland estate in the Santa Ynez Valley to a mansion in Beverly Hills.

Times staff writer Jean Guccione also contributed to this report.