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Judge: Authorities had probable cause to search Neverland ranch LINDA DEUTSCH Associated Press LOS ANGELES - Child molestation allegations by a 12-year-old boy provided authorities with probable cause for a massive search of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch last year, a judge has ruled, rejecting defense efforts to challenge the search as illegal. Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville short-circuited a plan by Jackson's lawyers to call multiple witnesses in an effort to show that prosecutors had insufficient information to justify the invasion of Jackson's estate last November. The judge's ruling came late Tuesday after defense attorney Steve Cochran argued that authorities relied on a lot of pontificating from people without sufficient expertise. The point was to smear my client, to make it appear there was a menace to society out there whose house needed to be searched immediately. Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen said the only thing that could invalidate the search would be significant misrepresentations. Those, he said, were not present, and the judge agreed. I am not persuaded there were any deliberate misrepresentations in drafting of the original search warrant, Melville said. He conceded that there may have been some relevant omissions, but he concluded: There was probable cause to believe Michael Jackson had committed the offenses _base_d on the statements of the minor witness. The judge said he was basing his ruling on extensive written briefs, most of which have been sealed from public view by Melville. Loyola University Law School Professor Laurie Levenson said the ruling probably was not a surprise to the defense since such motions are difficult to win. It doesn't hurt to try, she said, and it preserves the matter for any future appeal. Melville did agree to let defense attorneys challenge individual items seized during the search and recessed the hearings Wednesday to give lawyers time to draft a list of items they want suppressed as evidence. The ruling came at the end of a day which featured a surprise allegation that the psychologist who first took the boy's claims to authorities had also been treating the private detective whose role in the case is at the center of a continuing legal battle. Stan J. Katz declined to discuss his relationship with private investigator Bradley Miller, claiming a therapist's privilege of confidentiality, which the judge eventually upheld. Brian Oxman, the defense attorney who dropped the bombshell about the psychologist's relationship with the witness wound up being fined $1,000 by the judge when he persisted in questioning the issue after the judge ruled it was out of bounds. Bradley Miller is a very special patient of yours, is he not, Dr. Katz? asked Oxman. If he were a patient, I could not disclose that because of the privilege, Katz replied. Katz had been called Tuesday in an effort to determine whether Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon and other authorities were aware Miller worked for Jackson's former lawyer, Mark Geragos, when evidence was seized from Miller's office. they say they had no such knowledge. Katz, who acknowledged only that he knew Miller and had worked with him on family court cases in the past, said he never discussed the Jackson case with Miller and did not tell authorities that Miller was working for Geragos. Jackson, 45, is charged with committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on $3 million bail. When the hearing resumes on Thursday Jackson's lawyers are also expected to call more witnesses, including the current husband of the accuser's mother, as they wrap up their effort to throw out evidence obtained from Miller's office. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/californ...