← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Gabrielle
Thread ID: 16776 | Posts: 5 | Started: 2005-02-15
2005-02-15 19:31 | User Profile
[img]http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/02/15/national/jackson.184.1.jpg[/img]
"ANTA MARIA, Calif., Feb. 14 - Lawyers for Michael Jackson revealed a celebrity-packed list of 370 potential witnesses in the child molesting case against him on Monday, as jury selection began in earnest in a small courtroom here.
The defense's witness list contains well-known people like Kobe Bryant, Quincy Jones, Larry King, Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor and Stevie Wonder. Also on the list are David Blaine, the magician; Deepak Chopra, the motivational speaker and writer; Steve Harvey, the comedian and actor; Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys singing group; Maury Povich, the talk show host; and Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino owner.
Martin Bashir, a British journalist whose 2003 documentary about Michael Jackson included the singer's assertion that he shared his bed with young boys and showed Mr. Jackson holding hands with his then 13-year-old accuser in this case, is on the list. So is Ed Bradley, the CBS journalist who interviewed Mr. Jackson after the documentary was broadcast.
Judge Rodney S. Melville of Santa Barbara Superior Court has barred lawyers on both sides of the case from discussing the case outside the courtroom, so it was not immediately clear what any of the celebrities know about the facts of the case. Lawyers not associated with the case said these famous people might be called as character witnesses for Mr. Jackson or simply to dazzle the jury.
"They should sell tickets," said Laurie Levenson, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, a former federal prosecutor who speaks often about the nexus of fame and felony. "You have to remember this is not just a trial, it's a public relations campaign. This list is a nice way of reminding jurors that Michael Jackson has a lot of important friends in high places who believe in him."
Mr. Jackson's lead lawyer, Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., read the names of his potential witnesses to a pool of about 100 jurors assembled in the courtroom this morning as part of the process of interviewing possible jurors known as voir dire. The judge has estimated that it will take about three weeks to select 12 jurors and eight alternates.
The witness lists were disclosed to the jurors to learn whether any of them were acquainted with or related to any possible witnesses. The first jurors to face in-depth questioning said they had heard of some of the witnesses but were not personally acquainted with any of them.
One of the prosecutors, Ronald J. Zonen, said that some people on the government's witness list overlapped with the defense's roster, and then read about 115 additional names, including a large number of police officers and investigators who put together the case against Mr. Jackson.
Mr. Mesereau said he planned to call two of Mr. Jackson's children, Paris, 6, and Prince Michael, 8. Mr. Zonen said the government might call their mother, Debbie Rowe. The defense listed as potential witnesses the accuser, who said Mr. Jackson molested him on several occasions two years ago on a sleepover visit to Mr. Jackson's Neverland ranch near here. The defense also said it intended to call nine of the boy's family members."
Read on : [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/national/15jackson.html?th[/url]
2005-02-15 20:23 | User Profile
I think that Jackson was a real fool for dismissing Geragos...that said, I can't really imagine what probative value the testimony of these "celebrities" would offer other than as character evidence...and if Jackson is planning to fall back on character evidence as the corpus of his case in chief, than he is in big trouble. Perhaps he thinks that the damage that would ensue by "opening the door" to character testimony would be mitigated by the "star power" of these Hollywood luminaries, but that is a big gamble to take.
2005-02-15 22:16 | User Profile
I think it just shows what a moral cesspool Hollywood is, that they testify for this pervert.
Also the rather transparent double standard of justice in America. Think of all the innocent people convicted of child molestation - but this guy flaunts it for years, and he may still walk.
2005-02-16 00:52 | User Profile
Okiereddust,
Yes you are Right!
And take a look at this! "The defense's witness list contains well-known people like Kobe Bryant... might be called as character witnesses for Mr. Jackson"
:shocking: :blink: :wacko:
2005-02-16 01:49 | User Profile
Hung jury.
:yawn: