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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2004)
/_L WANT WINGS? Friday, January 23, 2004 AGGIELlFl THE BATTALK) Judge, known as strict but fair takes control of Jackson case By Linda Deutsch THE ASSOCIATED PRESS D I N E-1N OR CARRY-OUT Welcome Back Ags! 700 University Drive, Suite B-201 “Next to Blockbuster Video” 979-846-WING JACKSON DIN E - I N OR WING FLAVORS • ORIGINAL HOT • HAWAIIAN BARBEQUE • MILD • GARLIC PARMESAN • CAJUN • LEMON PEPPER • ATOMIC • TERIYAKI WING ORDER SIZES 10 PIECE 4.29 (I or 2 flavors/ 20 PIECE....8.49 (I or 2 flavors/ 35 PIECE...14.49 50 PIECE....19.99 (Up to 4 flavors/ 75 PIECE 29.99 (Up to 4 flavors/ 100 PIECE...39.49 (Up to 3 flavors/ (Up to 4 flavors) CARRY-OUT HOMEMADE SIDES FRESH CUT SEASONED FRIES Reg ular 09 Large (more than a pound) 99 HOT CHEESE SAUCE ,.09 PEARL POTATO SALAD 1.09 & 2.69 BOURBON BAKED BEANS...1.09 & 2.69 CRISP VEGETABLE STICKS 59 CREAMY RANCH OR CHUNKY BLEU CHEESE DIP. 59 DINNER ROLLS 29 SANTA MARIA, Calif.— Michael Jackson may be the star attraction when he shows up to court, but the judge overseeing the singer’s child molestation case has made it clear it is his show inside the courtroom. During Jackson’s first court appearance last week, Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville showed Jackson, his lawyers and prosecutors that the rules will be enforced, tardiness will not be tolerated and even bathroom breaks may be frowned on. He has also banned cameras from the courtroom. Strict observance to courtroom decorum and pro cedure is a hallmark of Melville, known as a taskmaster who also is fair and compassionate. A recovering alcoholic, Melville helped establish Santa Barbara County’s first court for substance abusers. “He’s a model of leadership,” said Santa Barbara lawyer James Herman, a past president of the state bar association. “He has a lot of respect and support from the bench.” Herman has appeared before the judge many times in a variety of cases, and “win, lose or draw, my clients have gotten as good as it gets in his courtroom.” If the Jackson case goes to trial, it could catapult Melville to instant fame — or infamy. The worldwide press attention the case has generat ed is unlike anything he has dealt with previously. Melville has not presided over any big, closely watched cases. His experience includes real estate mat ters, family law and disputes over strawberry fanning, a primary industry in Santa Maria. The judge asserted his authority last week when Jackson pleaded not guilty to molesting a boy. The 62- year-old judge admonished Jackson u He may be going overboard, but his message to the defendant is 'It's not your show; it's mine/ Simpson courtroom. The judge doesn’t want to known as another Judge Ito.” Lance Ito was widely accused of losing cont of the courtroom and letting opposing attorneyspt ture and declaim for the cameras during Simpsor murder trial a decade ago. Levenson said Melville might have fearedtk allowing a camera in court would give Jacks; another stage on which to perform. “He may going overboard, but his message to the is, It’s not your show; it’s mine,”’ she said. Jackson clearly made it his show outside a courtroom. He greeted fans on his way into a courthouse, despite arriving late, and hopped or: the roof of an SUV afterward, did a few dance st and blew kisses to the crowd. He even had thespe tacle videotaped by his cameramen. Melville is perhaps best known for hiseffon! help drug- and alcohol-addicted defendants. Melville embraced Alcoholics Anonymous 1978 — he said he attended meetings every days three years — and has been involved in the groir work ever since, serving as a sponsor for othersr ing to stay sober. “I recognized that 1 had a drinking probh and people were smart enough tell me,” Melville said in an if view last June with The Di Journal, a legal newspaper in L Angeles. Melville grew up in San Die; the son of a preacher and ascho teacher. He served on a submar: in the Navy and studied at Hastt College of the Law in Si Francisco, all the while hidins drinking problem. As a young lawyer practice Santa Maria, Melville finally sou. help after blacking out. He was appointed to Municipal Court bench by 0 George Deukmejian in 1987 ando vated to Superior Court in 1990. became known as a reformer, dr — Laurie Levenson Loyola University law professor We are open Monday - Sunday 1 lam-Midnight for arriving 21 minutes late for an 8:30 a.m. arraign ment and told the self-proclaimed King of Pop he should “restrict his liquid intake” before the next hearing so he will not need a bathroom break. “The judge may be trying to control the uncon trollable,” Loyola University Law Professor Laurie Levenson said. “But 1 think he was trying to send the message that it’s not going to be another O.J. cated to making the courts more progressive inir treatment of addicts. He was hand-picked for the Jackson case by presiding judge of Superior Court. “It’s a good courtroom to be in as a lawyer,\ James Kigali, who has tried many civil cases bet Melville, “because you're in the presence of a and practical judge.” A tv So Wrigl son b true s A&M Big I after 1 the r well-< Wi future forW to lea 7, Q-3 first I namei makir ranks. Wi down ing th playir Decer his 2 forma No. li Wi worst at Adi rebou in the “Ij said. ' can't 1 No long \ in the thems less in Wrigl game: There still gi Friday, Jan. 23 rd 2004 TICKETS IN ADVANCE HIGHLY SUGGESTED AT Traditions AI Bookstore & Cavender's (formally Rother's) ■ Mm ■ ^wiin m TAD HAMILTON! /Wl( A ROBERT LUKETIC film “WIN A DATE WITR TAD HAMILTON!" KATEBOSWORTH TOPHER GRACE JOSH DUHAMEL with SEAN HAYES Al NATHAN LANE »5LAURA WASSERMAN Ai DARREN Hi! BY PG-13 PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTI0NED<S3S Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13 SEXUAL CONTENT, SOME DRUG REFERENCES AND LANGOAGE ."“VICTOR LEVIN “1! 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