Jackson trial may cost state more money

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Local officials may turn to the statehouse for more financial support to run the Michael Jackson trial, where security and related costs can soar to as much as $40,000 a day.

According to calculations by Santa Barbara County, the cost of handling Jackson's arraignment on Jan. 16 last year was $157,985. That includes everything from $35,331 in staff time to plan logistics to $23,577 for things like fences, toilets, added trash pickup and consulting.

The state has a program that funnels money to small- and medium-sized counties overwhelmed by the cost of high-profile trials, but that money is set aside for murder cases.

State Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, is considering introducing a bill to help the county cover the costs of providing security for Jackson's trial. The pop superstar is accused of molesting a 13-year-old former cancer patient, and jury selection is under way. He has pleaded not guilty.

Local officials are struggling to get an accurate estimate on what the county's costs will be for the five-month trial.

Estimates range wildly, from a low of about $2.5 million to a high of about $4 million of taxpayer money. Those estimates don't include the costs to the city of Santa Maria, to the Superior Court or for investigation and prosecution.

So far, the biggest costs to the county have been for security.

On the busiest days, as many as 35 sheriff's deputies, some in plainclothes, and 30 or so Santa Maria police officers, some with dogs, keep the sometimes rowdy crowds of fans at bay.

The Sheriff's Department is charged with security on the courthouse grounds, while the city police handle traffic and the streets surrounding the Santa Maria Courthouse.

One estimate puts the cost of security and other needs around the courthouse on a single day at about $40,000, Jason Stilwell, a special-projects manager in the county administrator's office, told the Santa Barbara News-Press. Perhaps as much as 85 percent of that goes to cover security in and around the courthouse, Stilwell said.