Ray Chandler SUBPOENA: ready to tell even some truth in order NOT to testify

I know that the posts about Ray Chandler subpoena are becoming too numerous but there so many documents made by Ray Chandler’s lawyers to save him from Michael Jackson’s subpoena that their number alone shows the ferocity of his opposition to it. One would think he is fighting for his life…

The documents that come next are dated October 25, 2004 and include the Motion of Third Party Raymond Chandler to Quash Subpoenas and/or in Camera Review and his Declaration.

I decided to have a closer look at these impressive 70 pages of legal thought: http://www.sbscpublicaccess.org/docs/ctdocs/102504nommot3rdpty.pdf

1) Ray Chandler starts with a NOTICE OF MOTION to object to the subpoena (i.e. with declaring that it is useless to wait for his arrival to testify on November 4, 2004). See what grounds for objection he gives:

NOTICE OF MOTION

To defendant Michael Jackson and his attorneys of record:

Please TAKE NOTICE THAT on November 4, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. in Department SM-2 of the Santa Barbara Superior Court, located at 312 East Cook Street, Santa Maria, California 93456, third-party RAYMOND CHANDLER will move this Court for an order quashing the subpoena duces tecum served on him on September 23, 2004.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE THAT at the time and place specified above RAYMOND CHANDLER will request an in camera inspection by the Court of all documents requested in the subpoena.

This motion will be made on the grounds that the subpoenas do not provide adequate cause for compelling production of the documents by a third party; the documents sought by the defendant are not material to the issues involved in the case; that Raymond Chandler is a journalist protected from complying with this subpoena by the journalists’ privilege. In the alternative, Raymond Chandler proposes that this Motion be continued until such time as the Court rule on the admissibility of the 1993 child molestation allegations that are the subject of these subpoenas. Finally, Raymond Chandler asks this Court to review in camera to subpoenaed documents to determine which, if any, should be provided to Defendant for review and copying.

This motion will be based on this notice of motion, on the Declaration of Raymond Chandler, the memorandum of points and authorities served and filed herewith, on the papers and recorded on file herein, and on such evidence as may be presented at the hearing.

Dated: 10/25, 2004                                      Herb Fox, Attorney for Third-Party Raymond Chandler

–       So while every Michael’s hater thinks it an absolute must for Ray Chandler to present his invaluable documents to court, Ray himself is of the opinion that the subpoena from the Defense is not an “adequate cause” for compelling production of those documents…. Interesting, isn’t it?

–      And while Tom Sneddon is digging into Michael’s past for every speck of dust there and every art book in his library to evidence possible molestation Ray Chandler claims that the “documents” which laid the basis for his tell-all book about MJ “molesting” Jordan ‘are not material to the issues involved in the case’?

In principle, after Ray Chandler admitting a thing like that we could close the issue of his ‘All That Gitters’ book as virtually non-existent and move on to other subjects, but there are other revelations awaiting us, so let’s go on with it.

–     Though we previously thought that Ray Chandler’s profession was someone in construction projects to be later turned into a lawyer (the back cover of his book says, “he earned his J.D. from the Santa Barbara College of Law and was admitted to the bar in 2001, and currently practices law in Santa Barbara”), now we suddenly find out that Ray Chandler is actually a journalist who is protected from Michael Jackson’s subpoena by the journalists’ privilege. The more we read the more fantastic it gets…

–     We also learn that the only thing Ray Chandler agrees to is having his ‘documents’ reviewed in camera (in the judge’s chambers with no onlookers or jury present). Since the procedure did most probably take place before the trial but none of those invaluable documents surfaced ground it shows that even the authorities could not fish out anything worthy of their attention there. Very enlightening piece of information …

2) The Notice is followed by  10 pages of “MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES” and 4 pages of Ray Chandler’s DECLARATION both dated October 25, 2004 (the date is important as one more declaration will be made in November ).

Since the main idea of these documents is already clear to us (objecting to the subpoena) let me disregard all the numerous “irrelevance to the case” issues and legal precedents supporting the objection and focus on some fresh ideas found here. I mean the following:

1. Ray Chandler admits that he is a dedicated harasser of Michael Jackson though he says he possesses NO personal knowledge of the sexual abuse of his nephew:

• “My intent in 1993 was, and at the present time continues to be, to investigate, gather and publicly disseminate the true facts surrounding the 1993 molestation scandal and civil lawsuit brought by Jordan Chandler against Michael Jackson for sexual battery.”

• “I was not a witness to, nor do I possess personal knowledge of, the sexual molestation of my nephew, Jordan Chandler, by Michael Jackson”. (from Declaration)

2. He says he has disseminated in the internet at least 500 hateful materials about Michael Jackson. For this purpose he has set up a special site on the internet (I tried the website, but it isn’t operative).

He is tracing down all positive information about Michael Jackson on a regular basis and is exposing the role of these media outlets in covering up his “crimes”. He sees dissemination of “truth” (i.e. lies) about Michael Jackson as his mission on earth:

• “…Raymond Chandler has posted on a public Web site (www.atgbook.net) over 500 pages of documents gathered during the course of a ten-year investigation” (from Memorandum)

• • From approximately September 12 to the present I have posted on the internet (free of charge for the first month) at www.atgbook.com over 500 pages of documents relating to the 1993 scandal. On that same Web site I have posted, and continue to post (free of charge) several reports authored by me concerning the role played by various media outlets in covering up the crimes committed by Michael Jackson against my nephew in 1993. The aforementioned Web site has received over 18 million “hits” (I always said Ray Chandler was a villain!)
    

• From 1993 until the present I have continued, and will continue, to investigate the 1993 molestation scandal for the purpose of publicly disseminating the true facts concerning that event, and to provide the public with information concerning child abuse (from Declaration).

3. He says he posted on the internet a lengthy report on Michael Jackson’s interview with Diane Sawyer conducted in 1995 (which we found on that haters’ yola site here: http://michael-jackson-facts.yolasite.com/primetime.php and immediately recognized it as Ray or Evan Chandler’s doing):

• “In 1998 I posted on the internet for public dissemination a lengthy report of statements made in an interview with Michael Jackson conducted by Diane Sawyer on the ABC News television program Prime Time Live. The purpose of my report was to expose false statements made by Mr. Jackson, Ms. Sawyer and ABC News. At that time I appeared on various television and radio programs for the same purpose.”
  

• “At that time I publicly stated that I was still considering publishing a book regarding the 1993 scandal. My public appearances and statements were reported in the New York Post and the Santa Barbara News Press. True and correct copies of said articles are attached collectively as Exhibit E”

4. Ray Chandler’s main exhibit offered to court is his book “All that Glitters” (exhibit A). The other valuable exhibits are cuts from newspapers: The Hot copy – 1pc ( exhibit D), The New York Post – 3 pcs, Off the Beat – 1pc (exhibit E), the Los Angeles Times – 2 pcs (exhibit F) and once again The Los Angeles Times – 2 pcs (exhibit G).

5. He says that there is nothing in those “documents” to aid Michael Jackson in his defense. Over here I fully agree – those paper cuts naturally have nothing to aid Jackson with, as the media had different intentions towards Michael, but his team was not looking for any aid from those paper cuts. Even if they did not say it openly, their aim was to see whether Ray Chandler did indeed have the ‘documents’ he repeatedly spoke about and check their authenticity in case he really happened to possess them.

However Ray Chandler subtly shifts the attention of the reader from the matter of authenticity to the matter of Michael being on a ‘fishing expedition’ for some facts to exonerate him:

• “I do not possess or have in my control any documents, recordings or other information that would tend to exonerate or otherwise aid Michael Jackson in a defense to the molestation of Jordan Chandler” (from the Declaration)

• “The request for discovery must describe the information sought and offer a plausible justification for production of the requested documents. The Defendant may not engage in a “fishing expedition”

• “…the published pages … offer not one example of a statement made by Jordan or Evan Chandler to indicate that any additional statements might be found in the requested documents that would aid in Jackson’s defense. Rather, defendant Jackson is on a fishing expedition, as is evidenced by the broad scope of the requested documents” (from the Memorandum)

6. Ray Chandler says that all the documents he is talking about are available from other sources so there is no need for him to present them to court. Some of the documents can indeed be found on that “yola” haters’ site I’ve mentioned (which can very well be Ray’s site judging by its content):

• “Raymond Chandler’s book and Web site contain letters and deposition testimony of former agents of Michael Jackson. Mr. Jackson either possesses these documents or can readily obtain them from his former agents, who can authenticate them. Chandler cannot.”

• “The book and Web site contain letters between Evan Chandler’s 1993 attorney and Mr. Jackson’s 1993 attorneys and investigators. Mr. Jackson is either in possession of these letters or can readily obtain them from his former attorney, who can authenticate them. Chandler cannot.”

• “The book and Web site contain transcriptions from an audiotape interview between Jordan  Chandler and a psychiatrist. This tape can readily be obtained from Jordan Chandler (if only he came) or his former attorney, who can authenticate that tape. Chandler cannot.”

• “Documents evidencing communications between Raymond Chandler and Evan Chandler (Request No.8) can be obtained from Evan Chandler (if only he came), who may be called as percipient witness to the 1993 events. In contrast, Raymond Chander is not a percipient witness to the sexual misconduct of Michael Jackson in 1993″ (which doesn’t prevent you from detailing this ‘misconduct’  in your book though).

• “If 1993 evidence is admitted, then defendant must first request the documents from others who are in possession of the documents. These are persons who, unlike Raymond Chandler, are witnesses who were involved in the 1993 matter and have already been or are likely to be subpoenaed to testify in this case” (you bastard, first you brag you have the documents, and now you say Michael should turn to others to get them?)

7. The mammoth scope of his internet and media activity gives Ray Chandler a pretext to claim that he is a “journalist”. Proving this point is the MAIN idea of his declaration:

• “What makes journalist journalism is not its format but its content” (congratulations to everybody – all of us are journalists!)
• “The critical question for deciding whether a person may invoke the journalist’s privilege is whether the information was gathered for dissemination to the public” (we do qualify)
• “Ray Chandler’s activities over the past ten years meet that standard, (ours too) and he is protected by the journalist’s privilege from disclosing non-public documents or sources” (from the Memorandum)

8. In his zeal to prove that he is a journalist Ray Chandler starts disclosing valuable personal information about his activities against Michael Jackson.

He says that it has been his intent to collect materials for an incriminating book about Jackson from the very beginning of the case and he specially moved to his brother’s place for that purpose in August 1993 (so all that Evan Chandler’s sobbing over the telephone after being ‘beaten by a journalist’s camera’ was indeed a soap opera as we suspected it all along). Now he speaks about it in a very matter-of-fact and no-nonsense way:

• “Within two days after the Michael Jackson child molestation scandal became public in August of 1993, Raymond Chandler traveled from his home in Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and began gathering information and conducting interviews with persons directly and indirectly  connected with the molestation allegations. From that point in time to the present (even after the publication of the book), Raymond Chandler has continued to gather information related to the 1993 sexual battery complaint brought by Jordan Chandler against Michael Jackson..”.

• “As evidenced by the following, Raymond Chandler’s intent in 1993 was, and at the present time continues to be, to investigate, gather and publicly expose the true facts surrounding that lawsuit and scandal” (from Memorandum).

• “From late  August 1993 through December of 1993, I lived in the home of Evan and Jordan Chandler in Los Angeles. During that time I talked extensively with Evan Chandler, Jordan Chandler, June Chandler (Jordan’s mother), and other persons directly and indirectly connected with the molestation allegations”.

9. Ray Chandler continues to reveal his secrets as he thinks they will never be disclosed to the general public and the documents containing them will be sealed by the court (following that protective order).

So he openly tells us of his plans to publish the book immediately after the confidentiality agreement was signed in 1994 but says he didn’t do it “at the request of his brother and his attorney” (translation: because they were afraid to be sued for breaching the agreement):

• “Within days after Jordan Chandler’s civil lawsuit against Michael Jackson was settled in January, 1994, Raymond Chandler traveled to New York City to seek a publisher for the purpose of putting the information he had gathered in the form of a non-fiction book for dissemination to the public”. (from Memorandum)

• “Shortly after Jordan Chandler’s civil molestation suit against Michael Jackson was settled in January 1994, I traveled to New York City to seek a publisher for my book. An article attesting to this fact appeared in the New York Post. A true and correct copy of said article is attached as Exhibit D. (At the request of my brother and his attorney I did not publish a book at that time)”.(from Declaration)
  

10.  Though the Chandler brothers waited for some ten years to publish the book (its release date is September 12, 2004) Ray Chandler occasionally reminded Michael Jackson via different media channels that ‘he was considering publishing a book regarding the 1993 scandal’.

From the strange way he goes on repeating this idea even in the Memorandum and Declaration it looks like he is either reconnoitering for a possible reaction to it from the opposite side or wants to keep Michael in suspense over the danger of a slanderous book…

Could it be a form of a blackmail to keep Michael from ever opening his mouth about the Chandlers’ exoneration  effort and overall allegations against him? The over-sensitive reaction of Evan Chandler to a couple of Michael’s innocent words in the Diane Sawyer interview (which took the form of a $60mln suit against him) strongly speak in favor of this possibility.

Could it be a form of a threat meant to force Michael Jackson pay them the whole sum? Well, we know now that those fears were groundless – the confidentiality agreement said that Michael Jackson’s duty to pay was absolute and the Chandlers were to receive the money in any case. The only danger was in having to return the money if the arbitration court proved that the Chandlers had talked to the media and had thus broken the agreement – which was what they were actually doing without any shame or remorse:

• “In the Fall of 1994 I wrote approximately ten letters requesting interviews with Michael Jackson’s attorneys, private investigator and other agents, in which I stated that I would soon be publishing a book regarding the 1993 scandal” (Declaration)

• “At that time [1998] Raymond Chandler appeared on various television and radio programs to discuss his report, and he publicly stated that he was still considering publishing a book regarding the 1993 lawsuit and scandal” (Memorandum)

• “In 1998 … I publicly stated that I was still considering publishing a book regarding the 1993 scandal”

• “On September 12, 2004, I appeared on the NBC News television program Dateline at which time I publicly stated that my intent in becoming involved in 1993 was, among other things, for the purpose of publishing a book regarding the molestation scandal”. (Declaration)

11.  Since Ray Chandler declared himself a journalist he now claims that he is “protected by a reporter’s privilege” so that “the burden shifts to the defendant to make the showing required to overcome the privilege”.

The burden of disproving that he is a journalist is now shifted to the defendant? No comment.

12.  He also makes a lot of fuss over the fact that the day before signing the confidentiality agreement Michael Jackson withdrew his claim of extortion (same as the Chandlers withdrew their claim of molestation) and this for some reason proves that Evan Chandler was no extortioner:

• “As to Evan Chandler, on January 24, 1994, Michael Jackson publicly withdrew his claim that Evan Chandler attempted to extort from him in 1993 (Exhibit G).

13.  In conclusion Raymond Chandler promises to produce his valuable ‘documents’ to the court for in camera review. As this is exactly what all haters are dribbling over let’s see what these documents look like:

• “Notwithstanding this Motion to Quash and the Objections to Subpoena Duces Tecum, filed concurrently, Raymond Chandler has produced the documents and tapes that appear to be responsive to the Subpoena for in camera review. These documents include several thousand pages of newspaper and magazine clippings, copies of deposition and court pleadings, and approximately six to eight hours of tape recordings”.

The only interesting point in this paragraph is “deposition transcripts” as the recordings are already known to us, not to mention “thousands of newspaper and  magazine clippings”.

The law encyclopedia says that a DEPOSITION is “a pre-trial interrogation in which a witness in a case answers questions under oath. The testimony delivered during the deposition may be used during the trial”. And also: “The deposition, because it is taken with counsel present and under oath, becomes a significant evidentiary document.”

An interesting thing about a deposition in the Chandlers’ case is that Jordan NEVER MADE IT as was confirmed by Johnnie Cochran (see Lisa Campbell’s book “The King of Pop’s darkest hour”, p.183).  But even if we don’t believe Lisa Campbell the same conclusion may be derived from the fact that no deposition from Jordan was ever used in court (though this is its direct goal and application).

The most Jordan made was  a DECLARATION (the authenticity of which still remains to be proven). The law encyclopedia says that the legal value of a declaration is not as high as that of a deposition (as it cannot be used in court in the absence of a witness) and “in the law of evidence, it is a statement or narration made not under oath but simply in the middle of things, as a part of what is happening”.

Even if made under oath its legal value is minimal as the person cannot answer for perjury even if the statements he made in the declaration are false. So whatever deposition transcripts were in possession of Ray Chandler we may be sure that Jordan’s deposition was NOT among them.

14. The final conclusion made by Ray Chandler on October 25, 2004 is the following:

• “For all of the above reasons the subpoena duces tecum should be quashed. In the alternative Defendant should not be provided access to said documents until the Court rules on the 1993 evidence. Finally, this Court may inspect the requested documents in camera to determine what documents, if any, should be produced for inspection and copying by the defendant”. (Memorandum)

Okay, we know that Defendant Michael Jackson was never given that right as Ray Chandler’s subpoena was quashed, but it is also interesting to see that the Prosecution didn’t use any of those documents either. Evidently the “determine what documents, if any” clause showed that there was NOTHING worth of submitting to the 2005 trial even for Sneddon.

If you think that this is how this endless legal argument terminated you’ll be wrong. The Defense made an opposition to the above Motion, saying that Ray Chandler could not qualify as a journalist.

You’ll be amazed by Ray Chandler’s answer…

(to be continued)