13 June 2006
One year later: The Michael Jackson Verdict

BY DAWN HOBBS, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

One year ago today, Michael Jackson left the Santa Maria courthouse a free man after a jury acquitted him of child molestation, ending one of the most widely covered criminal trials in recent history.

The verdict on June 13, 2005, brought to a close a five-month trial that featured celebrity witnesses — including Macaulay Culkin, Chris Tucker and Jay Leno — bizarre testimony and twists that drew media attention from Australia to Iceland.

The prosecution, headed by District Attorney Tom Sneddon, painted Mr.
Jackson as a pedophile who lured a 13-year-old boy to Neverland Valley Ranch in 2003 to molest him. The defense team, led by Thomas Mesereau, attacked the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses and portrayed the accuser and his mother as conniving grifters with a history of targeting wealthy celebrities.

In the end, the jury sided with the pop star, acquitting him of all charges.

So, a year later, where are the key players now? And how did the trial affect their lives?

THE DEFENDANT

The stress of the trial took its toll on the pop star, who was facing up to
18 years in state prison if convicted. A visibly thinner and obviously exhausted Mr. Jackson left the courthouse the day of the verdict. He briefly returned to his Los Olivos estate and then headed for the Persian Gulf with his three young children, taking up residence with the prince of Bahrain to recuperate.

Mr. Jackson, 47, continued to lie low until Hurricane Katrina hit, when he scrambled to create a star-studded charity single, “I Have this Dream,”
which is expected to be released soon. Mr. Jackson plans to return to the recording studio in Bahrain with the intent of releasing a new album in late 2007, said spokeswoman Raymone Bain.

Mr. Jackson’s first public appearance since the verdict wasn’t until just a couple weeks ago, when he received MTV Japan’s “Legend Award.” Appearing much healthier, Mr. Jackson also visited children at an orphanage in Tokyo.
He’s scheduled to make future stops in Singapore, Shanghai, China and Hong Kong.

It’s unknown when or if he will ever return to Neverland.

THE ACCUSER

The boy, 16, and his brother, 15, are both honor students who are on the high school football team and involved in military and volunteer activities.

“Given the ordeal they endured, these two boys are doing just fine,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen.

The older boy, who was battling cancer when he met Mr. Jackson, is in good health, Mr. Zonen said.

The District Attorney’s Office helped the family move to a secret location during the trial and change their names to avoid being harassed, he said.
However, the family has received no further money from the county, the prosecutor said.

Following the verdict, a Jackson fan used his own Web site to reveal the boy’s name and the school he was attending, Mr. Zonen said. “It’s a credit to the boys that they didn’t run or change schools.”

The boy’s mother has apparently had standing offers to sell her story to the media but has declined, he said.

The woman, whose bizarre testimony and erratic behavior made jurors question her credibility, may now be facing trial herself. During the Jackson trial, she invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying about alleged welfare fraud.

After the verdict, Los Angeles authorities filed charges against her: one count of welfare fraud and four counts of perjury pertaining to false applications for welfare aid. She faces arraignment later this month.

THE DEFENSE

After the verdict, Mr. Mesereau landed a spot on Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005, along with Condoleezza Rice and Tom Cruise.

The Los Angeles-based lawyer has spent the past year speaking with various legal and civil rights organizations. But he’s most proud of his talks with schoolchildren about the value of an education and the futility of interracial violence. Two weeks ago, he received an award in Washington, D.C., with New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for his work on behalf of inner-city children.

Mr. Mesereau continues his annual trips to the South. Each year he takes the case of a defendant facing the death penalty, and this year again received an acquittal on a capital murder charge in Birmingham, Ala.

He recently assisted in the opening of a free legal clinic in Los Angeles that was named after him.

“The trial has made me much more popular — for better or for worse,” Mr.
Mesereau said. “But I would hope I’ve stayed who I am.”

He’s formed a new law firm with partner Susan Yu, who also opened a free legal clinic at her Korean-American church in Los Angeles and was named one of the top 75 women litigators in California after the verdict.

Co-counsel Robert Sanger has returned to his law practice in Santa Barbara.

He recently received an award from Death Penalty Focus, an anti-capital punishment group, for an article published in the Santa Clara Law Review that prompted legislators to form a commission to review the application of the death penalty in California.

“The trial really didn’t change my life,” he said.

THE PROSECUTION

Mr. Sneddon, who also tried to put Mr. Jackson behind bars a decade ago on similar allegations, said before this round that he was going to step down from the post he’s held since 1983. His successor will be Christie Stanley, his North County assistant.

Mr. Sneddon could not be reached on Monday.

After the trial, Mr. Zonen returned to his work with the district attorney’s sex crimes unit. The veteran prosecutor is also preparing for the trial of Jesse James Hollywood, who was arrested in Brazil during the Jackson trial and charged with the murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz.

“Frankly, once the Jackson trial was over, I went about my life and was doing what I was doing before,” Mr. Zonen said.

Source: Santa Barbara New Press

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