Judge seeks Jackson divorce papers

LOS ANGELES - A judge has ordered lawyers for Michael Jackson and ex-wife Debbie Rowe to submit copies of missing papers from their divorce file.

Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider on Monday ordered Rowe’s lawyer, Marta Almli, to submit duplicate copies of Rowe’s 2001 motion to terminate her parental rights to her two children with Jackson, and an emergency motion filed more than two years later seeking temporary exclusive custody and visitation rights.

Jackson’s lawyers, Michael Abrams and Thomas Hall, were ordered to submit a copy of the pop star’s opposition to the emergency motion.

Jackson and Rowe married in November 1996 and filed for divorce in October 1999 after the births of son Prince Michael and a daughter, Paris. Jackson also has a son whose mother hasn’t been identified.

A private judge oversaw the divorce case.

“The way this file looks, it’s clear to me that documents have come in an untimely fashion,” Schnider said.

The missing documents must be submitted within 30 days, he said, and may be filed under seal. A hearing has been set for May 24.

Jackson, 47, and his children moved to the Middle Eastern kingdom of Bahrain soon after a jury acquitted him of child molestation charges last year.

He recently closed the house on his 2,600-acre Neverland ranch estate in Santa Barbara County and has reduced his staff there to a skeleton crew.

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