Jesse James Hollywood’s attorneys argued before the 2nd District
Court of Appeals in Ventura that the Santa Barbara District
Attorney’s office should not be allowed to prosecute the infamous
accused murderer because a local DA shared confidential information
with a movie producer. Ordered by the state Supreme Court, the
hearing saw lawyers for both sides argue before a three-judge
panel. The issue at hand was Deputy DA Ron Zonen’s involvement with
director Nick Cassavetes, who has since made a big-budget
film – Alpha Dog – based on Hollywood’s life. Zonen
shared, among other things, probation files and police reports with
Cassavetes in the early stages of the film’s production. While
Zonen was not paid for his collaboration and insists he was only
hoping to help apprehend the then at-large fugitive, Hollywood’s
lawyers believe the divulgement constitutes a glaring violation of
justice and prevents Hollywood from getting a fair trial in Santa
Barbara County. Justices are expected to rule on the matter in two
to three months.

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