On the eve of trial, a mystery witness has emerged in the Michael Jackson case and will be deposed by both the prosecution and defense in a rare weekend session at noon Saturday in Los Angeles.

ABC News has been told exclusively by sources in the case that the witness is a paralegal who worked for the attorney representing the accuser’s mother when their family sued J.C. Penney and won a $137,500 settlement in October 2001.

These sources say the paralegal has claimed to the Jackson defense team that Jane Doe, as the accuser’s mother is known in court papers to protect her son’s anonymity, lied under oath and fabricated the charges against J.C. Penney security guards.

According to these sources, the paralegal has alleged to the defense team that the bruises Jane Doe said were inflicted by the guards were actually perpetrated by someone else.

And, they say, the paralegal claimed to the defense team that Jane Doe told her she coached her son to lie during his deposition against J.C. Penney.

The defense said today in open court the mystery witness speaks directly to the heart of this case. The defense said that the witness will testify that Jane Doe lied under oath during a civil case, and lied for money.

A source close to Jane Doe tells ABC News that she will vehemently deny any allegation that she lied or fabricated evidence in any way in the J.C. Penney case.

Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville said he would review the deposition on Monday morning before opening statements in the trial. Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a cancer patient at his Neverland ranch and plying the boy, who was then 13, with alcohol. The singer has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Source: ABC News

A defense request to have District Attorney Tom Sneddon removed from the case was turned down by Judge Melville in Fridays Court Hearing in the Michael Jackson Child Molestation case.

Source: Associated Press

The defense in the Michael Jackson child molestation case also allege that the mother (of the accused victim) might have been delusional at the time she was allegedly held against her will at hotels and Neverland because she wasn’t taking drugs that were prescribed for her.

The judge barred mention of the prescription drugs unless the defense can establish that the woman was supposed to take them and did not.

Source: Associated Press

The jury in the Michael Jackson case will hear evidence that portrays Jackson’s accuser’s mother as a grifter and a liar.

Judge Rodney Melville said that he would allow the jury to hear testimony about the J.C. Penney case, in which the accuser’s mother alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by store security guards. The defence is not allowed to mention however, that Jackson’s young accuser stole clothes from the store.

Defence attorney Tom Meserau blasted the accusers, saying the mother had used money obtained from celebrities on plastic surgery. Meserau also spoke of how she gave contradicting testimony in two previous court cases. She said in her divorce that her husband had beaten her for many years, but denied such occurances in the J.C. Penney case.

Deputy prosecutor Ron Zonen clearly did not like the judge’s decision.

He said “the question is whether a man who admits to sleeping with children was sleeping with this child, and what he did with this child. That’s what this case is about.”

Opening statements are scheduled for Monday, 28th February.

Source: Associated Press

A woman who had suffered a massive heart attack died after hospital personnel moved her out of a trauma room to accommodate a flu-stricken Michael Jackson, the patient’s family said.

Jury selection in Jackson’s child molestation child had to be temporarily postponed Feb. 15 when the pop star was taken to Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, Calif., complaining of flu-like symptoms. Manuela Gomez Ruiz, a 74-year-old grandmother, was moved from the primary trauma room and taken off the machine ventilator, with her breathing instead assisted manually by hand pump, until she was relocated to a smaller room nearby, her family told ABC News.

The larger room was kept for Jackson, the family says. Hospital records show Jackson, 46, told emergency room staff he had severe abdominal pain. His body temperature, 96.9 degrees, was below normal and he had tears in his eyes. The initial emergency room report said he could go home anytime.

There was no doubt Jackson was sick — as a doctor assured the judge presiding over his trial — but how sick? Anna Ruiz, Ruiz’s daughter-in-law, says she watched as Jackson entered the emergency room.

“He walked in,” she said. “When I saw him, he was walking unassisted.”

Anna Ruiz was in the emergency room with her mother-in-law who was in the primary trauma room, attached to IVs and a ventilator.

“It’s a large family and the mom is the heart of the family, ” she said. Ruiz was a mother of eight, grandmother of 24 and great-grandmother of 26.

But Ruiz’s heart was failing rapidly. She would have two more heart attacks before she died that day.

The family has hired an attorney to sue both the hospital and Jackson.

‘They Shouldn’t Have Treated Us Any Different’

Maria Elena Ortiz, the ailing woman’s daughter, said she was in the room when Jackson came in. She was also present when her mother was moved and objected.

“Why does she have to be moved if he’s coming in for a stomach flu?” Ortiz said. “I said, ‘My mother just had a heart attack and I think it’s more critical than a stomach flu.’ They didn’t say anything.”

No one knows if moving Ruiz added to her trauma, but family members said they were told her heart was functioning at 30 percent and other organs were failing. But they say the chaos caused by Jackson’s arrival distracted staff, and robbed them of precious time with their mother and grandmother as she died.

When Ruiz was moved to a smaller room, the family says equipment had to be crammed into the room. They also were limited to two visitors at a time. Once those visitors were in the room they could not leave and let other family members in because the hospital restricted movement in the hallways after Jackson arrived, the family says.

“This was the last time we might be able to talk with our grandma. They took that from us,” said Marcos Meraz, one of Ruiz’s grandsons.

Source: MJNO & ABC News

As juror number 240 stood to leave the courtroom, Michael Jackson threw anxious looks at his attorney and his jury consultant. Then the 46-year-old celebrity defendant put his head in his hands. Jackson hissed an inaudible one-word response. The woman had given him hope.

The “prejudices” and “racial games” that were played there weren’t played on the state level where she worked, she said.

There are so few blacks in high county positions, she said.

“Tokens,” she called them.

“Look around,” she said, referring to the courtroom.

Jackson sat enthralled at the defense table.

“Woo,” he said to no one in particular.

The black woman talked about how prison officials had treated her husband.

“He was always the one overlooked for promotions,” she said.

Jackson nodded his vigorous agreement.

When the woman berated network television consultant and former county Sheriff Jim Thomas for publicly criticizing Jackson, Jackson seemed absolutely beside himself with excitement.

The press must have been tipped about the Neverland search to get there as quickly as they did, she said.

“Exactly,” Jackson said loud enough to be heard.

“I don’t know if the man is guilty or innocent because I haven’t seen yea or nay,” she said.

But how can Jackson receive a fair trial, she asked.

“Just look around us,” she said.

A “jury of his peers” would include more “people of color” and of “mixed diversity.”

“How diverse does this jury look to you?” she asked.

“Have some representation up here,” she said. “And it doesn’t have to be me.

But she wasn’t through.

Police officers who have pulled her over for speeding with their guns drawn only backed off after seeing her prison work uniform, she said.

Jackson’s head went up and down in spirited agreement.

“I’ve had this happen to me my whole life, but so what?” she said.
“I think I’ve opened my mouth enough.”

Source: Santa Maria Times

Opening statements are to begin Monday in the Michael Jackson child-molestation case, as the 12 jurors and eight alternates who will sit in judgment of the entertainer have all been sworn in.

“There is a real problem and a danger of juror misconduct in a case of this nature,” Melville said. “It’s extremely important that you follow the admonition that you not talk to anyone about this case or express an opinion about the outcome.”

The jury panel was excused until Monday, when both prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to present opening statements.

“That’s when each side, if they desire, give you a road map of where their case is going,” Melville said before releasing jurors for a long weekend.

Source: Santa Maria Times

E! and British satellite broadcaster BSkyB have completed casting for “The Trial of Michael Jackson,” in which actors will re-enact daily testimony from Jackson’s trial, set to start Monday. The networks, working in con junction (”Trial” will also air in the U.K.), previously an nounced that Jackson imperson ator Edward Moss would portray The Gloved One.

Yesterday, ex- Court TV anchor James Curtis was named to host E!’s version of the show — with relatively unknown actors portraying other key figures in the trial:

Charles Haigh as DA Thomas Sneddon; Jack Donner as Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville; Rigg Kennedy as defense at torney Thomas Mesereau; Dan Sanders as assistant de fense attorney Robert Sanger; and Bob Wood as assistant DA Ron Zonen.

Source: NY Post

A day after 12 jurors were selected in the Michael Jackson child molestation case, attorneys made progress Thursday toward seating eight alternates.

As potential alternate jurors were quizzed Thursday, defense attorneys rejected three of them and prosecutors dismissed one. Other alternate juror prospects were dismissed Wednesday.

The potential alternate jurors cut by the defense Thursday included a 36-year-old woman whose brother is a police officer and a 52-year-old mechanic who said the media does not know the facts in a court case as well as the people involved. Prosecutors dismissed a 44-year-old woman who sounded weary as she answered questions about her ability to serve.

The defense has now used four of eight challenges it can make without providing a reason during the selection of alternates, while prosecutors have used three. Others were sent away for hardship or other reasons.

Source: AFP

The 12-person jury chosen for Michael Jackson’s child molestation trial is a diverse group.

There are four men and eight women on the jury. The youngest juror is a 20-year-old man. The oldest is a 79-year-old woman.

There are no African-Americans on the panel. There are four people who appear Hispanic and one Asian woman who lists Indonesian as her first language. Jury questionnaires did not have a question on race.

The jurors are:

A 51-year-old woman who works as a computer programmer.

A 22-year-old woman who is a physical therapy aide.

A 62-year-old man who is a civil engineer.

A 44-year-old woman who works in the Department of Social Services.

A 63-year-old man who is retired.

A 45-year-old woman who listed no job on her paperwork.

A 79-year-old woman who is retired.

A 21-year-old man who is a student.

A 42-year-old woman who works as an education aide in special ed.

A 50-year-old woman who is a horse trainer.

A 39-year-old woman who is a clerk.

A 20-year-old man who is an assistant head cashier.

Most jurors told lawyers they enjoyed Jackson’s music and were impressed by his career. Most also said they distrusted what they heard in the media, and very few had seen recent interviews with the pop star.

One juror’s ex-husband is a police officer. Another juror said her sister was raped when the sister was 12. When asked if that would prevent her from being on the jury, she responded, “Hell no.”

The 79-year-old juror is a great-grandmother whose grandson had to register as a sex offender. She told lawyers she feels the experience will help her be fair to Jackson.

The youngest juror told the court his sister and her boyfriend had visited Jackson’s sprawling Neverland estate.

The horse trainer said she was surprised by Jackson’s size. She described him as a small man with lots of energy.

The 21-year-old student is a paraplegic, paralyzed in the lower half of his body, who said he wants to be a motor sports reporter. He said he visited Neverland with a United Cerebral Palsy group when he was in the sixth grade.

Source: CNN