In related case news, Michael Jackson's lawyer laid out the defense case in court Friday: The accuser's mother is after Jackson for money. The Judge will allow the defense to attack her credibility with details of her lawsuit and settlement against JC Penney stemming from an incident in which security guards stopped the mother and two sons after suspecting one, Jackson's accuser, of shoplifting:
Mesereau told the court that the day after the alleged beating by guards, the mother returned to the store and hugged employees, then filed the lawsuit and later amended it to add the groping claim.
Mesereau also said the woman testified in the J.C. Penney case that her husband had never hit her, but later alleged in her divorce that he had beaten his family for years. She also accused her ex-husband of inappropriately touching her daughter, the lawyer said. The family's lawsuit ended in a $150,000 settlement from J.C. Penney and Tower Records. Mesereau said the mother hid assets from the settlement to get welfare payments from Los Angeles County.
He also said the mother had her son ask celebrities including TV host Jay Leno for money and spent some of the funds on cosmetic surgery...."She got a breast enhancement and a tummy tuck and then told Mr. Jackson and all these people that she was destitute," the attorney said.
The Judge ruled that the defense cannot refer to the accuser as a "shoplifter." Also, he is barring details of the accuser's mom's extra-marital affair.
The defense said it had wanted to show that during the time she was allegedly held captive by Jackson she was in contact with a Los Angeles police officer and an Army officer whom she eventually married. The defense claims she could have asked him for help if she had been a captive.
On a related issue,
The defense also alleged that the mother might have been delusional at the time she was allegedly held against her will because she wasn't taking drugs that had been prescribed for her. The judge barred mention of prescription drugs unless the defense can establish that the woman was supposed to take them and did not.
The Judge has said he won't rule on the admission of testimony of the 1993 accuser or whether a battered woman's expert can testify for the prosecution to bolster the testimony of the accuser's mother until after hearing what they have to say after the trial starts.
That makes it a little difficult to compose your opening argument. Does Mr. Mesereau just not mention the 1993 accuser, hoping the Judge disallows the testimony? Does he tell the jury, "You may or may not hear from a battered woman's expert in this case?"
TalkLeft hadn't planned on daily coverage of the Michael Jackson case, but don't be surprised if we change our mind and provide a nightly recap. If you're not interested, please just scroll on by. Opening arguments are set for Monday.
