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Original Post(1/30/05):
There is news in the world other than the Iraqi elections. For one thing, jury selection in Michael Jackson's trial on child molestation gets underway Monday in Santa Barbara.
4,000 jurors have been summomned. 750 will show up Monday to fill out a 7 page questionnaire. The Judge will advise them the trial is expected to last six months. Individual questioning of those that have not been excused will begin February 7. Opening arguments likely are weeks away.
Jackson vehemently denies the charges:
Lead defense attorney Tom Mesereau has told the judge that Jackson's accuser and his family are "flat-out liars" who made up the abuse accusations because the boy's mother wants money from the superstar.
They point out that the woman once sued J.C. Penney for $3 million, accusing the department store's security guards of mistreating her and her family when they were detained on suspicion of shoplifting. The case settled out of court for about $135,000.
Privacy issues nt are at the forefront. The media thinks the Judge has been too restrictive. On the other side, Jackson has complained about the massive and inappropriate leaks of grand jury testimony . The Judge has allowed Jackson to release a statement on his website about the leaks, and it will be posted here sometime this morning.
The accuser, now 15, and his 14 year old brother, will testify against Jackson in open court. Sexually explicit material seized from Jackson's ranch will be introduced as evidence, although prosecutors will not be allowed to refer to it as pornography. The British documentary that started the investigation will be played for the jury.
The trial will get down and dirty:
The trial could be one of the most dirty mudslinging matches in legal history, with the truth drowned by a wave of accusation and counter-accusation. The first skirmish comes tomorrow when 12 jurors must be selected from a pool of 4 000. It will be a fascinating process. Santa Maria is a conservative area, still tied to its ranching roots and with a large population of military veterans. Only 2%of residents are black, but Jackson's lawyers will desperately want at least one black juror.
Other issues will be vital, too. In batches of 150, the jurors will be grilled on attitudes to plastic surgery, fame, divorce and eccentric behaviour.
Here's a profile of Rodney Melville, the judge presiding over the trial.
Melville has barred cameras from the courtroom, as well as cellphones, hand-held computers, laptops and other electronic devices.
