The Michael Jackson Trial

[KiwiCoromandel]

Boy tells court of abuse by Jackson

12 March 2005

SANTA MARIA: A teenage boy has testified that Michael Jackson masturbated him at least twice after nights of heavy drinking – testimony that capped a bizarre day in which the pajama-clad pop icon was nearly jailed for missing court.

The 15-year-old boy calmly told jurors on Thursday that during his extended stay at Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch, the singer had foisted wine and hard liquor on him and twice molested him under the guise of showing him how to masturbate, which Jackson said was a necessary and natural act.

Though the testimony is at the heart of the sensational trial, it was partly overshadowed when the judge ordered Jackson's arrest because he failed to arrive on time. He turned up about an hour later dressed in pajamas, appearing dazed and walking gingerly, as if he were in great pain.

Though Jackson hobbled into court a few minutes past a deadline set by Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, the judge cancelled an arrest warrant and allowed the 46-year-old superstar to remain free on $3 million ($NZ4.2 million) bail.

A Jackson attorney later explained that the self-styled "King of Pop" had tripped while getting dressed for court, injuring his back, and had gone to a hospital for treatment. "He was in terrible pain. He was in terrible discomfort during the entire proceedings," lawyer Brian Oxman said.............

Read more.......

http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3214604a1860,00.html

[KiwiCoromandel]

Jackson 'on brink of bankruptcy'

13 March 2005

SANTA MARIA: Michael Jackson is more than $US300 million in debt and faces a looming financial crisis brought on by his "spendaholic" ways, a prosecutor in the entertainer's child molestation case say.

"We have reason to believe that Mr. Jackson is on the precipice of bankruptcy," Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss said in a court hearing on Friday on whether Jackson's finances can be introduced as evidence at his trial. "He is in debt to the tune of over $300 million."

Auchincloss, saying Jackson was "a spendaholic" who "had an insatiable appetite for money," sought access for prosecutors to the pop star's financial records.

Prosecutors argue that the deteriorating state of Jackson's finances explains why his camp flew into a panic over public backlash from a controversial 2003 documentary in which he described his habit of sharing his bedroom with boys.......

Read more......

http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3215625a10,00.html

[KiwiCoromandel]

sickness?...... :bigsmile:

[DudeAsInCool]

"We have reason to believe that Mr Jackson is on the precipice of bankruptcy. He is in debt to the tune of over $300m [£156m]," Santa Barbara County deputy district attorney Gordon Auchincloss said.

"Michael Jackson has a billionaire's spending habit but a millionaire's budget," he added.

When you have a serious case before you involving child molestation, doesn't it make you wonder why the prosecution would resort to tabloid attacks? And what possibly could his money situation have to do with the charges?

I smell a bunch of small time prosecutorial losers trying to make a name for themselves by using a high profile personality, not a search for justice.

[DudeAsInCool]

Prosecutors seek Jackson financial records

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Tim Molloy

March 12, 2005  |  SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) -- Prosecutors want to review Michael Jackson's financial records, saying they believe serious money troubles drove the entertainer to force his accuser's family to help him rebut a damaging television documentary.

Here is the reason for the Prosecutor's financial meddling - sounds ridiculous to me - as if a making a documentary could turn someone's financial problems around...

[Redneck4sure]

True Dude. Only a liberal would believe that bullshit.

[DudeAsInCool]

Jacko $$$: Deal on Table to Save Him

Sunday, March 13, 2005

By Roger Friedman

Jacko Not Bankrupt | Jacko Lawyer Wrong

D.A. Has Jacko's Finances Wrong

Santa Barbara Assistant District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss is wrong aboutMichael Jackson's finances. He is not near bankruptcy. But he is broke.

Auchincloss said in a court motion Friday that Jackson is on the verge of bankruptcy, and that his whole universe could explode in December 2005. More importantly, he said that in February 2003 Jackson took his accuser's family hostage for image control because he was worried about the effect of their state.

Auchincloss is wrong. True, Jackson is cash-poor broke right now. As I've reported all week, the operating accounts for Neverland are empty. Jackson has had trouble meeting his payroll. He owes local contractors and vendors money in the Los Olivos area. He's well known for not paying bills on time.

On the other hand: A deal awaits him that clears up his $275 million debt to Bank of America, leaves him with a substantial percentage interest inSony/ATV Music Publishing and frees up collateral of $100 million in cash. The mortgage on Neverland would be removed, and Jackson would have a $7 to $8 million annual income. If Mr. Auchincloss thinks that's not enough money to live on, he should double-check his own household budgets.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150181,00.html

[DudeAsInCool]

Accuser told school official Jackson did nothing

SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- The teenage boy accusing Michael Jackson of molesting him admitted on the stand Monday that he told an administrator at his school that nothing sexual happened between him and the pop star.

"I told him Michael never did anything to me," the boy said, referring to Jeff Alpert, who at the time handled disciplinary issues at the Los Angeles middle school the boy attended. Under questioning from the defense, he did not explain why he denied the child molestation allegations to Alpert.

Under prosecution questioning last week, the boy testified that Jackson molested him on two occasions when they were sleeping alone together at the pop star's Neverland Ranch two years ago.

http://cnn.law.printthis.clickability.com/...&partnerID=2013

[Redneck4sure]

It looks to me like he is going to be aquitted. I haven't followed the trial that close but it seems to me he has this one beat.

[KiwiCoromandel]

it looks like it red...if he gets off...and on the grounds of the boys latest admission it`s all of a sudden looking very ugly for the prosecution.....and they prove that some of the charges against him were crap, then look out...this will cost someone a shit load of money..and i`m picking that it won`t be jacksons..i still think that he`s a looney though......a very talented, very unhappy looney...he sure could move on stage, and beat it and thriller were great videos....... :)

Edited March 15, 2005 by kiwibank

[DudeAsInCool]

Jackson Accuser's Poor Performance

March 14, 2005

Boy: Jackson Didn't Molest Me

(CBS) If prosecutors were hoping that Michael Jackson's accuser would come to the witness stand Monday and cement into place their case, they surely are disappointed, and perhaps even mortified, by the young man's courtroom demeanor and testimony. The alleged molestation victim did not talk or act like one in court. And on Monday, during the heart of the prosecution's case, no part of his story was immune from serious and substantial questions about its accuracy or reliability.

At times sullen and combative, cheeky and evasive, acting more like a punk than a crime victim, and often mumbling so badly that the court reporter had to ask him to repeat his answers, the young man did little to persuade jurors that he is telling the truth and Jackson is lying about their alleged encounters together. And it wasn't because Jackson's attorney, Thomas Mesereau, went after the complaining witness like the pit bull attorney we all know he can be. Indeed, part of the reason why Monday was such a devastating day for prosecutors is because the accuser so often during the course of the cross-examination did himself in through word and deed. Calling the young man "Mister," Mesereau was subtle and soft because he didn't have to be blunt and firm. The witness was doing his dirty work for him.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/14/...ain680053.shtml

[DudeAsInCool]

Has Court TV's Diane Dimond helped prosecutors gather evidence in theMichael Jackson case?

New Jersey businessman Henry Vaccaro Sr. claims that's exactly what she did last March, vowing to alert Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon after discovering a pair of soiled Calvin Klein briefs - presumably Jackson's - among the items in Vaccaro's extensive collection of Jackson family memorabilia in a warehouse in Asbury Park.

http://www.nydailynews.com/03-15-2005/fron...2p-248206c.html

[KiwiCoromandel]

" curiouser and curiouser " as the old saying goes dude.....i smell an agenda here..... <_>

[DudeAsInCool]

" curiouser and curiouser " as the old saying goes dude.....i smell an agenda here..... <_>

The prosecution's case is shot...

[DudeAsInCool]

The Psychologist

The Doctor ctor who interviewed accuser says Jackson no pedophile; tells cops teenager invoked name of boy who brought 1993 molestation charges

MARCH 15--Michael Jackson "doesn't really qualify as a pedophile. He's really just this regressed 10-year-old."

    According to Katz, he twice interviewed Jackson's alleged victim and the teenager's younger brother in his Beverly Hills office, once on May 29, 2003 and again the following month. During those interviews, the younger boy spoke openly of Jackson's alleged illicit behavior, while the older boy broke down when Katz asked whether he had ever been molested by the performer.

It was during these sessions that the older boy surprisingly revealed that he was aware that Jackson had faced prior child abuse allegations (a criminal probe evaporated after an eight-figure civil settlement was struck in 1994 withaccuser Jordan Chandler and his family).

Katz told Zelis that it took a lot of time to get the older boy to trust him, noting that he was aided by the child's mother, who "had to really spell out" that the psychologist was "helping us, working for us." Katz told Zelis that he assured the child he was doing the right thing by relating his experiences at Neverland Ranch. "We talked all about how courageous this was," Katz told Zelis, "and I said to him, 'You know, you don't want Jackson to do these things to kids again, do you?'"

Katz recalled that the boy responded, "Well, Jordy Chandler did not stop him." 

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/michaeljackso...kson_katz1.html

if this doesnt smell like a set-up, i dont know what does...

[Shawn]

I guess it's perspective. I don't even doubt that he did it.

[DudeAsInCool]

I never told of abuse because kids made fun of me : Jackson accuser

Michael Jackson's teenage accuser said he did not tell a school administrator about the alleged sex abuse because he was afraid he classmates would make fun of him.

The claim came a day after the 15-year-old former cancer patient dealt a serious blow to the prosecution in the superstar's child sex trial by admitting that he had told the teacher Jackson had never molested him.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/050315/1/3ra0s.html

[Redneck4sure]

The prosecution's case is shot...

you said "shot". huhh uuhh huh.

[DudeAsInCool]

Leno Contradicts Accuser--Said He Received Call From Boy, Felt the Kid Was Being Coached to Get Money

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=585263&page=1

[DudeAsInCool]

DA helped Dimond out of a 'Hard' spot

Does Court TV reporter Diane Dimond owe Tom Sneddon big time?

Yesterday, I learned that the Santa Barbara district attorney - whose prosecution of Michael Jackson is Dimond's beat - played a key role in killing a slander suit that Jackson filed against her a decade ago.

http://www.nydailynews.com/03-16-2005/fron...5p-248431c.html

[Kooperman]

I used to enjoy watching the Court Channel when it first went on the air, but as some of the original anchors left they were replaced with a group of exceptionally prosecution friendly and shrill female anchors....it was so unpleasant listening to their spin, even when I thought the prosecution should win, that I quit watching the channel.

[DudeAsInCool]

Mar 15, 8:24 PM EST

Jackson jurors defy judge's 'diet'

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) -- The Michael Jackson trial judge was overruled by the jury Tuesday when they extended their 10-minute snack break because of an unexpected bonanza: free pizza.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville has been running an unusually rigid schedule with no lunch hour, just three quick snack breaks during six hours of testimony - a hunger-inducing regimen he calls "the Melville diet."

When jurors took an extra 15 minutes getting back into their seats, he offered an explanation. "The Olive Garden heard a CNN report that the jurors were starving to death," he announced. "So they sent over a bunch of pizzas."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRF...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

I thought it would be a good idea to take a tasty break and mull over the thread...Have you come up with your own verdict?

[Redneck4sure]

Quite a circus you make of the judicial system if you have enough money and this trial is turning into exactly that, a circus. I'll bet a box of ammo (any caliber) that he is found not guilty. :)

[DudeAsInCool]

CheerLeaders' in Michael Jackson's Corner

SANTA MARIA, Calif. — Michael Jackson(search) has his own personal cheerleading squad.

His supporters cheer him loudly every time he appears at the courthouse for his child-molesting trial.

Read all about them here:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150618,00.html

[DudeAsInCool]

Jacko's Housekeeper Saw 'Intoxicated' Boys

Thursday, March 17, 2005

SANTA MARIA, Calif.  — A former housekeeper at Michael Jackson's (search) Neverland ranch testified Thursday in the singer's child molestation trial that the pop star had close friendships with several boys between the ages of 10 and 14 and that she saw children she believed to be intoxicated at the estate.

Kiki Fournier (search) also said children who remained at Neverland anywhere from a few days to months at a time would sometimes stay in Jackson's room, and she described kids running wild there without parental supervision and little discipline from Jackson, being permitted to stay up late, eat candy, watch movies and play games.

Jackson's accuser and his brother were among the children who became wilder the longer they stayed at Neverland, Fournier said. She said that initially the accuser was very polite but she soon noticed that the room he shared with his brother was increasingly dirty.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150754,00.html