Jackson defense gets documents related to accuser
Judge sets hearing date for child molestation charge
 |  VIDEO |
 Grand jury hears case against Jackson
|
|
SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- A judge in the Michael Jackson case ordered two boxes of documents turned over to the defense under seal.
The boxes contain medical and psychiatric records of the boy who has accused Jackson of molesting him. The boxes also contain school records of the accuser and his siblings, and documents from Jackson's 1993 molestation case, which was settled out of court.
The boxes were brought to court by a lawyer who represents someone who has been subpoenaed by the grand jury.
The grand jury was finishing a week of listening to testimony about the case.
Also Friday, at a pretrial hearing, a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge scheduled a hearing April 30 to determine if there is enough evidence to put Jackson on trial on charges of child molestation.
If the grand jury decides to hand up an indictment before then, the April 30 date could serve as Jackson's arraignment on the new charges, said Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville.
Unlike the open-court hearing, the grand jury's discussions are secret.
Under grand jury rules, the prosecutor is supposed to present incriminating and exculpatory evidence to the jurors, who must then to decide whether to return an indictment.
Benjamin Brafman, one of Jackson's lawyers, said he has "a wealth" of exculpatory evidence, and the defense has prepared briefing books containing 100 points of such evidence that it wants the grand jurors to get.
But Jackson's lawyers complained to Melville that they have not received unedited copies of all of the 18 or more search warrants served in the case to date, and therefore may not have access to all the exculpatory evidence they want the grand jurors to see.
The lawyers warned that further delay could be grounds to challenge any indictment the grand jury might return.
The judge ordered prosecutors to hand over the material to the defense.
Melville also met with defense attorneys about an audiotape, the contents of which have not been made public.
Melville said he will listen again to the tape and decide whether its contents are protected by attorney-client privilege or should be handed over to the prosecution. The tape was found during a Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office search of the office of a private investigator hired by Mark Geragos, another attorney for Jackson.
Attorneys were told not to publicly mention the names of the people whose voices are heard on the tape.
Under a court-imposed gag order, attorneys are forbidden to speak about most aspects of the case.
Melville said he would be willing to loosen the order slightly to allow written statements to be issued to the news media by either side, after he has reviewed and approved them.
Jackson was in Washington Friday after having received an award there Thursday night for his work against AIDS.
Jackson, 45, has pleaded not guilty to seven felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and two counts of giving the child an "intoxicating agent."
Prosecutors say the incidents took place in February and March 2003.
CNN's Miguel Marquez and Dree Declamecy contributed to this report.
