Michael Jackson arrived for the start of his child-molestation trial Monday, greeted by a crowd of fans shouting encouragement who pressed against fences to see the pop star.

Jackson, wearing white and shielded by an umbrella, waved to supporters as he walked into court. During the morning hours before his arrival fans danced and sang a Jackson song deriding the district attorney and booed a woman who held a sign backing the alleged victim, a 13-year-old boy. Many had spent the night outside the little courthouse.

Source: Associated Press

On one side is a superstar singer with millions of fans worldwide. On the other is his longtime nemesis, a district attorney who now has a young witness apparently ready to testify.

Jury selection will begin today in Michael Jackson’s child molestation case.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville summoned 300 people to court Monday for the first round of jury selection. Another 300 are to follow on Tuesday, with a final 150 scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. From that pool, the judge hopes to find 12 jurors and eight alternates.

After three days of preliminaries, lawyers will be given time to study prospective jurors’ written answers and return to court next week to excuse those who have strong views that clearly exclude them from service. The lawyers will then begin questioning in depth those still in the jury pool.

The challenge facing the court is not to find jurors ignorant of the case but to find those who say they can put aside everything they have heard and look at the evidence as if they had heard nothing.

“This is an extremely high profile case locally, nationally and internationally,” Jackson’s lawyer, Thomas Mesereau Jr., said in a recent motion. “The publicity is so widespread that there is no jurisdiction in the state or perhaps in this country that would afford Mr. Jackson a trial in front of jurors who have not been influenced by the publicity.”

Source: Associated Press

In an article released by CNN, CNN report: “Jackson’s attorneys disputed the prosecution’s claim that the boys needed protection from the public eye, saying they had testified in other cases and had recently been spotted shopping in Beverly Hills with the district attorney.”

Source: CNN

In a world exclusive two weeks ago, Geraldo spoke to the King of Pop. Michael Jackson is gagged and cannot speak about the allegations, the accusers or the leaks in specific terms, but he was allowed by the judge in the case to read a prepared statement.

Here is what Michael said:

“Yes, in the last two weeks, a large amount of ugly, malicious information has been released into the media about me. Apparently, this information was leaked through transcripts in a grand jury proceeding where neither my lawyers nor I ever appeared. The information is disgusting and false.

“Years ago, I allowed a family to visit and spend time at Neverland. Neverland is my home. I allowed this family into my home because they told me their son was ill with cancer and needed my help.

“Through the years, I have helped thousands of children who were ill or in distress.

“These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children and me. I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position again.

“I love my community and I have great faith in our justice system. Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court. I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told.”

I asked Michael if there was anything else he wanted to add. At first he said no, but later added, “I would just like for the public to keep my family and myself in their prayers. That would be very nice.”

There will be a lot more from Michael Jackson in Fox News exclusive interview next week.

Source: Fox News

A Top 20 list of music videos has been compiled in a poll commissioned by
the mobile phone company 3, as a way to celebrate over 3 decades of music
videos. Michael Jackson’s famous ‘Thriller’ short film made it to position 2
on the list while ‘Billie Jean’ came in at #5:

Hurt - Johnny Cash
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Come To Daddy - Aphex Twin
Just - Radiohead
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Panellists included musicians Norman Cook, Tom Fletcher (McFly), and Michael
Stipe (REM) along with Brit Award nominees Franz Ferdinand, Bjork, Amy
Winehouse, and Robert Smith.
Tom Fletcher, from boy band McFly chose Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video
and added:

“A good video shows a band’s personality and should make the song better. It
should be able to stand on its own.”

Source: GIGWISE.com

After months of relatively quiet pre-trial hearings, a frenzied atmosphere is expected to return to the Santa Maria Court House - similar to the day when Michael Jackson first appeared in court to proclaim his innocence on child molestation charges.

“It’s going to be a circus, there’ll be big crowds,” Mr Nugent said. “I have no idea why people are interested - but they are. For me, it’s just a job.”

Security is much tighter than it has been for previous hearings. Two tall chain-link fences have been erected to keep fans at bay.

“We’ve bought a significant number of barricades to keep the crowds of out of the streets so we don’t have a repeat of people rushing out to try to get to Mr Jackson’s vehicle,” said Chief Macagni.

So far, only a few fans are milling around the area - but by Monday police expect a crowd of up to 5,000.

Many supporters say they will be a permanent presence outside the courtroom. Nichole A Jackson, who changed her surname in 2002 to be the same as her idol, said she believed he was innocent.

“There is no way Michael would ever hurt a child. That’s just ridiculous stuff,” she said.

Another fan, Michel Martin, added: “I don’t know if he’s guilty or not guilty - I guess we’ll have to wait for the court system to decide that.

“But you have to understand that these are men judging Michael and not God.”

Source: BBC

To date, the city of Santa Maria has rented more than $36,000 worth of public space to media outlets in town to cover the trial.

Funds raised will help compensate the city for the estimated $40,000 in overtime costs the Santa Maria Police Department will incur for officers patrolling the area around the courts complex, he said.

Across the courts complex on Miller Street, CNN has constructed a 7-foot platform near the office of worker’s compensation attorney Joe Gallas. The platform on Gallas’ lot did not require a permit.

Source: Santa Maria Times

Jurors in the child molestation trial of Michael Jackson will be shown the explosive television documentary which set in motion the events that led to his arrest, a judge ruled.

Judge Rodney Melville ruled that prosecutors can screen the British Broadcasting Corporation’s version of Martin Bashir’s programme “Living With Michael Jackson” for the jury, despite objections from Jackson’s lawyers.

“I’m going to limit it to the documentary aired on the BBC, not the 20/20 (US) version containing commentary by journalists,” Melville said.

Source: Yahoo

Both the prosecution and the defense in the Michael Jackson case have well-known jury consultants by their side as they prepare for jury selection, the News-Press has learned.

Howard Varinsky — fresh from helping the prosecution pick the jury that convicted Scott Peterson of murder — will help Santa Barbara County prosecutors select jurors who would be likely to convict Mr. Jackson of child molestation and conspiracy.

And J. Lee Meihls will assist defense lawyers to identify the jurors most likely to believe their client is innocent.

Mr. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday.

Mr. Varinsky has gained notice through the high-profile cases on which he’s worked, including those involving Martha Stewart, Timothy McVeigh, so-called subway vigilante Bernhard Goetz and Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

Ms. Meihls has consulted for the defense in both the John E. du Pont and Robert Blake murder cases.

This is not the first time Ms. Meihls and Mr. Varinsky have faced off. They were on opposite sides in the federal corruption case that resulted in the conviction of Arizona Gov. Fife Symington. But that time, she worked for the prosecution and he for the defense.

The two have entirely different approaches.

“He’s a gut man,” said Sarah Murray of Trial Behavior Consulting in San Francisco. “He goes by his instincts. He’s not much of a researcher, whereas she is.”

Jury consultants have been common in high-profile cases since the O.J. Simpson trial, when Jo-Ellan Dimitrius picked the jury that acquitted him of murder.

Typically, in these cases the consultants will conduct opinion polls and mock trials. Consultants also frequently pick the jury, prepare witnesses and advise attorneys during trial.

“Surveys, mock trials, these are the exercises which clearly should be done in this case,” said Joseph Rice of Jury Research Institute in Alamo. “Michael Jackson has the resources to do this. It would not be unreasonable to spend $100,000 or more if that sort of research is done.

“But to hire a consultant to sit and pick a jury for a month, which is what the prosecution may have done, is about $40,000 to $50,000,” Mr. Rice said. “But knowing how Varinsky works, he’s probably done some sort of profiling and testing.”

Today, lawyers are attending a hearing to work out ground rules for how the trial will proceed — including whether the accuser and his brother should testify behind closed doors and what evidence each side may present to jurors.

On Monday, jury selection will begin with groups of 150 brought into the courtroom. For three days, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville is scheduled to consider whether jurors who plead hardship will be dismissed.

The potential jurors who remain will each fill out a seven-page questionnaire. Attorneys will review the documents Thursday through Feb. 7. Attorneys for both sides will begin questioning jurors on Feb. 8 about their ability to be fair and impartial. The pool will ultimately be whittled down to 12 jurors and eight alternates.

Source: News Press

Dozens of adult-oriented books, magazines and DVDs seized at Michael Jackson Neverland ranch — one with the fingerprints of Jackson and his accuser — can be used as evidence in the singer’s upcoming trial, the judge ruled Friday.

The judge also ruled that Jackson’s accuser should testify in open court instead of in a closed courtroom with an audio hookup for the media.

At a hearing just three days before the start of jury selection, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville permitted most of the proposed evidence to be used at trial but said the prosecution could not refer to the material as pornography, obscenity or erotic. Instead, the words “adult” or “sexually explicit” can be used, he said.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen said the 50 print and video items that were seized in 2003 included graphic sexual material that was heterosexual and homosexual in nature. The material also included nude photos of models who may have been 18 but looked much younger, he said.

Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. countered that all the materials seized were legally available. In the case of the magazine with the prints, he said, evidence will show Jackson took it away from his accuser and locked it up.

Zonen said investigators found the fingerprints of Jackson and his accuser on one of the magazines but gave no further details.

Melville ruled that several items could not be used as evidence, including three books seized in 1993 that allegedly show pictures of nude adolescents.

Source: Associated Press