Jackson jury panel meets in secret

A media lawyer asked an appeals court to overturn an order preventing access to the grand jury in the Michael Jackson molestation case, hours after the panel apparently convened in a secret location.

The grand jury, which was expected to begin hearing evidence in Los Angeles yesterday, was not seen at the main courthouse.

Theodore Boutrous Jr, a lawyer for news organisations including The Associated Press, asked for an immediate halt to the order preventing the media from speaking to or photographing the jurors.

In a late development yesterday, Anderson amended his earlier order, lifting restrictions on photographing jurors and witnesses outside the courthouse.

The order also appeared to relax restrictions on reporters’ ability to communicate with jurors and adult witnesses outside the courthouse.

But the new order also added restrictions, forbidding anyone to communicate with or photograph any minor called to testify.

Boutrous said the amended order appeared to address one of his most immediate concerns by loosening the restrictions on photography.

Grand jury activities are usually confidential.

Jim Thomas, the former Santa Barbara County sheriff who attempted to bring molestation charges against Jackson in 1993, said the unusual steps apparently taken to conceal the grand jury were warranted.

“In most cases when you’re doing a secret grand jury, the case itself is secret,” Thomas told the cable news channel MSNBC. “In this case, obviously it’s not.” Thomas now works as a commentator for NBC.

Jackson, whose Neverland estate is in Santa Barbara County, was charged late last year with molesting a 12-year-old boy beginning in February 2003 and giving him an intoxicating agent, believed to be wine. Jackson has pleaded not guilty.

A pre-trial hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday.

Prosecutors are now seeking a grand jury indictment, which would mean they would not have to present evidence at a preliminary hearing to determine if the case should go to trial.