SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A judge refused yesterday to dismiss the prosecutor in the Jesse James Hollywood murder and kidnapping case but may have set up a First Amendment showdown with a writer who balked at turning over his notes about the crime.
Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Brian Hill said during a hearing yesterday that he found no grounds for recusing prosecutor Ron Zonen despite evidence that Zonen shared his case files with the makers of "Alpha Dog," a film based on the August 2000 kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz in the San Fernando Valley.
Hill rejected defense attorneys' claims that the actions of Zonen constituted a conflict of interest.
"I don't believe there is any conflict, and I don't see any basis for the conclusion that Mr. Hollywood cannot receive a fair trial," Hill said.
But Hollywood's defense got a boost when Hill ordered Michael Mehas, a Ventura attorney and friend of filmmaker Nick Cassavetes, to turn over by Nov. 28 all notes and tapes from interviews he conducted with at least eight witnesses in the case.
Mehas helped Cassavetes research his movie and is writing two books on the case. He said witnesses made statements to him that contradict the prosecution's case, but refused to turn over his notes.
"That's my work product that's going into my book, and I've no intention of turning over work product," he told the judge.
Hollywood, 25, is accused of orchestrating the crime as part of a feud he had with Markowitz's older half-brother over a $1,200 drug debt. Hollywood was captured in Brazil in March and brought to Santa Barbara, where he has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He could be sentenced to death if he's found guilty.
Hollywood's attorneys say they are confident they will get Mehas' notes and that they will ask an appellate court to decide whether Zonen should be removed from the case.
"Alpha Dog," starring Sharon Stone, Bruce Willis and Justin Timberlake, is scheduled to be released in 2006. It is based on the Markowitz slaying but the names and setting have been changed.