Judge Orders DA to Return Evidence

In a quiet hearing Thursday, Judge Rodney Melville ordered prosecutors to return items seized from the home of vindicated superstar Michael Jackson. The Judge ruled that all items not used as evidence in the trial should be returned to the singer immediately. However, he said the media would be given an opportunity to review those items introduced as evidence in court before being returned to Jackson. This excluded videotapes featuring Jackson, the accuser’s family or both. "Those have privacy issues and copyright issues and in all likelihood, I would not order their release," Melville said. Prosecutors also indicated that the Arvizo family wanted some of their possessions returned, including a jacket and watch that Jackson had once given to his accuser. The family also requested the return of their passports, birth certificates, visas and several photographs and books. In his request, defense attorney Stephen Dunkle said "law enforcement is merely holding the seized materials for the court and has no independent right of possession. The case is over.” Dunkle also requested the return of material seized during a 1993 investigation, including photographs of Jackson’s genitals. But the Judge refused to even consider the issue, saying another Judge had previously ruled that the material should be kept in a secret safe-deposit box. Making his first court appearance since Jackson’s acquittal, District Attorney Thomas Sneddon said: "I don't believe it would be appropriate for the court to consider (releasing) them. They were never entered into evidence." Sneddon wants to keep medicines Sneddon also opposed returning "contraband" seized from the Neverland Ranch, including “Demerol and syringes”. He told the court "there was [sic] a number of prescriptions that were in other people's names." Sneddon said the prescriptions were for Xanax and various antibiotics with one of the prescriptions being in the name of a Neverland employee. Melville told Sneddon that "anything you have seized that was not brought to court and was not contraband should be returned to Mr. Jackson." Sneddon further told the court he was concerned about returning various adult magazines seized from Neverland, as the items had undergone a chemical fingerprinting process. "They bear a seal on the binder that say [sic] they are toxic," he said. "I believe there should be some kind of a release signed by Mr. Jackson ... if he or one of his children has a toxic reaction to one of those materials." Trial costs taxpayers Meanwhile the taxpayer bill for the trial has reached a staggering $2.7 million and is still climbing. The majority of the funds were used for security and crowd control during the 14-week trial. These costs do not include investigative, grand jury, prosecutorial or other expenses related to the criminal proceeding. Source: Santa Maria Times/Santa Barbara News-Press/eMJey