Jackson's attorney can see reports on accuser

A judge in Santa Maria, California, agreed today to allow Michael Jackson’s attorneys to see school and psychiatric reports involving his accuser and his family – at the court for an unrelated lawsuit.

Jackson was charged last year with seven counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts upon a child under age 14 and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to the child. Jackson has pleaded innocent and Geragos has called the charges a “big lie”.

Attorney Mark Geragos told a judge he had subpoenaed the records concerning “the accuser’s family and the accuser himself”.

Judge Rodney S Melville, of Santa Barbara County Superior Court, agreed to the request, ordering that the records be released to both prosecutors and the defence.

The records were part of a 2000 lawsuit filed by the accuser’s family against two retail chains alleging they were beaten by security guards while leaving a shopping centre.

A store security guard had alleged that Jackson’s accuser had left the store with items that were not paid for. The boy was not charged and the lawsuit was later settled without going to trial.

Geragos said an attorney for one of the defendants in the lawsuit believed the records could not be provided without a court order from Melville.

Jackson was not required to attend today’s hearing and was not in the courtroom.

The molestation case against him continued to unfold in extraordinary secrecy as Judge Melville began the pre-trial hearing by meeting privately with defence attorneys – then told all parties in open court to make sure witness names were not released publicly.

Melville also made a slight modification to a gag order.

Attorneys are still forbidden from speaking about most aspects of the case. But the judge said they could give him proposed written responses to media reports. Judge Melville would then decide if the statements could be released.

He said he would issue no further rulings on the gag order.

Earlier, the judge met with defence attorneys about a mysterious audiotape - the content of which has not been disclosed. Attorneys were told not to publicly mention the names of the people whose voices were heard on the tape.

Any mention of witness names throughout the case must be done only in sealed motions, the judge said.

Today’s hearing was not the only proceeding going on concerning the case. Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon has been presenting evidence to a secret grand jury.

Jackson visited Washington DC, this week, where he met with members of Congress and was lauded for his work fighting Aids.