News and Information

Jackson prosecutor 'has vendetta'
October 8, 2004
The California official prosecuting Michael Jackson on child abuse charges is "motivated by personal animosity", lawyers for the singer have claimed.
In court documents made public on Thursday, lawyers called for Santa Barbara County district attorney Tom Sneddon to be removed from the case.

The motion alleges he has a vendetta against Jackson dating to a 1993 abuse inquiry that did not result in charges.

Mr Jackson, 46, has pleaded not guilty to 10 child abuse charges.


'Zealousness'

The 40-page motion, which was filed on Monday and the contents made public on Thursday, claims Mr Sneddon's handling of the investigation has revealed a conflict of interest that prevents the singer from obtaining a fair trial.

Referring to the 1993 molestation investigation, the motion said: "Mr Sneddon did not hide his anger that he was not able to charge Mr Jackson.

"This failure fuelled Mr Sneddon's zealousness in this matter."

The motion also alleges that in June 2003, Mr Sneddon personally conducted part of the investigation into the molestation allegations against Mr Jackson.

Grand jury

The motion says that last November, Mr Sneddon travelled alone from Santa Barbara to Beverly Hills to canvass and photograph the building of private investigator Bradley Miller, who was working for Jackson's then-attorney Mark Geragos.

Mr Sneddon opted to convene a secret grand jury, instead of using a preliminary hearing, to obtain an indictment against Mr Jackson, it claims.

It also alleges Mr Sneddon showed his bias during the grand jury proceedings,

A hearing on the matter is due to be held on 14 October, but the district attorney's office has said it will ask to delay the session to give it more time to respond to the motion.


Source: BBCNEWS


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