Reporters covering singer Michael
Jackson's trial in California have asked to see questionnaires
completed by potential jurors.
Lawyers for news organisations said it was "really
vital" for the responses of 250 potential jurors
to be made public "to serve as a check on the process".
Santa Barbara County Superior Court
is due to consider the request on Monday.
Mr Jackson denies child molestation.
It is estimated his trial will cost Santa Barbara county
up to $4m (£2.13m).
'Sensationalist coverage'
Meanwhile Michael Jackson's mother
has said she is "100% certain" her son did not
commit the child abuse charges he faces.
The court is currently selecting
12 jurors and eight stand-by jurors for the trial, a process
delayed until at least Thursday after a member of the
star's legal team was hit by family illness.
Defence lawyers argued against the
bid by Associated Press and other news organisations to
have potential jurors' responses made public.
"The release of the completed
jury questionnaires does not serve any purpose other than
to add to the sensationalist coverage of this case,"
a motion by Mr Jackson's lawyers stated. The estimated total costs of the
trial, expected to last five months, range from $2.5m
(£1.33m) to $4m (£2.13m) of local taxpayers'
money.
Those estimates do not include costs
to the city of Santa Maria, the Superior Court or for
the investigation and prosecution of the case.
The cost of security and other needs
around the courthouse has been estimated at $40,000 (£21,000)
per day, said Jason Stilwell, a special projects manager
at the county administrator's office.
'Good person'
Mr Jackson, 46, denies plying a
boy with alcohol and molesting him.
His mother Katherine Jackson told
US TV network Fox News on Sunday that her pop star son
told her he was innocent.
"I believe that for one reason
- I know his character," she said. "He loves
children. You don't molest anything that you love."
Describing Mr Jackson as "a
good person", the mother-of-nine said she feared
he would not be given a fair trial.
"I can't sleep thinking about
what these wicked people might try to do to him,"
she said.
