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Friday, January 23, 2004
AGGIELlFl
THE BATTALK)
Judge, known as strict but fair
takes control of Jackson case
By Linda Deutsch
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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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.”
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Friday, Jan. 23 rd 2004
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