Judge Refuses to Dismiss D.A.’s Office From Jackson’s Trial

A judge Thursday turned down a request by Michael Jackson’s lawyers to boot the Santa Barbara County district attorney’s office from the pop star’s child-molestation trial.

Thomas Mesereau Jr., Jackson’s lead attorney, contended in court that Dist. Atty. Tom Sneddon had been “blinded by zeal” and should be recused.

However, Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville disagreed, saying he saw no “disabling conflict” in Sneddon or his staff.

Mesereau’s failed tactic was part of a defense strategy to cast doubt on the charges by casting doubt on Sneddon.

Legal scholars had predicted that Thursday’s effort would fail, but they speculated that Mesereau was laying the groundwork for an appeal.

Mesereau, who described Sneddon as “losing touch with reality,” said the district attorney and his staff encouraged witnesses to lie to the grand jury that indicted Jackson. The defense lawyer said Sneddon was “obsessed” with the case, traveling to Australia at his own expense to locate other purported victims.

Prosecutors suggested that it was Mesereau who had lost touch with reality.

“There’s no evidence of any ‘obsession,’ ” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Zonen, contending that Sneddon over the years had turned down frequent media requests for comment on Jackson.

Zonen also denied that Sneddon had become too personally involved in the case by doing some of the work an investigator would ordinarily do. For instance, he took photos outside the office of a Beverly Hills private investigator connected with the case and conferred with the alleged victim’s mother during a trip to L.A.

“It was a 20-minute effort,” Zonen said, adding that the district attorney had been in Los Angeles that day on personal business anyway.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Steven D. Matthews also opposed the defense motion, saying Sneddon was simply doing his job.

“District attorneys are permitted to be zealous,” he said. “They’re allowed to strike hard blows, though not foul ones.”

During arguments before Melville, lawyers for both sides brought up several intriguing tidbits that could be fleshed out during Jackson’s trial, which is to begin Jan. 31.

Mesereau said that prosecutors had failed to find evidence of the alleged victim’s DNA in Jackson’s bedroom. He also said prosecutors had failed to fully check out the financial background of the accuser’s mother.

Zonen, denying that prosecutors had leaked news about the testing of Jackson’s bedding, said searchers uncovered “plenty of items” in Jackson’s home that would have made for more attention-grabbing headlines.