Jackson ashuffled to court in pajamas

[clasione]

Court warns Jackson, hears boy

By Martin Kasindorf, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/...t-inside_x.htm

SANTA MARIA, Calif. — On the most dramatic day in the first two weeks of Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial, Jackson rushed from a hospital and shuffled into court in pajamas bottoms to avoid arrest for being late. Pajamas also figured in some of the pivotal testimony in the case.

The 15-year-old alleged victim testified in his second day on the witness stand that he was wearing the singer's pajamas when Jackson twice groped him on his bed two years ago. The day's court session ended with 25 minutes of combative cross-examination by Jackson's lawyer that followed the boy's graphic account of drinking and sexual misconduct at the entertainer's Neverland Valley Ranch.

Jackson, 46, was absent when testimony was supposed to start. Defense lawyer Tom Mesereau told Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville: "Your honor, Mr. Jackson is in the hospital in Santa Ynez with a serious back problem, and the doctor is trying to reach you."
Last month, jury selection was delayed a week after Jackson was taken to a hospital with flu symptoms. The judge, who admonished Jackson in January 2004 when he arrived late for his arraignment, wanted no medical excuses this time. Melville issued a warrant for Jackson's arrest and ordered him to forfeit his $3 million bail. But he gave Jackson an hour to show up before the sanctions would take effect.

Jackson is on trial on charges of plying the boy, then 13, with alcohol, molesting him four times and conspiring to force the boy and his family to tape interviews exonerating the entertainer of misconduct.

When Melville issued the warrant for Jackson's arrest, the singer was at a hospital in Solvang, Calif., not far from Neverland. Cable TV networks went live. MSNBC showed a clock counting down the time remaining for him to appear.

Jackson arrived at the courthouse a few minutes past the deadline. He walked haltingly to the door. Aides held his arms to support him.

One of Jackson's lawyers, Brian Oxman, later told the Associated Press that the singer "tripped this morning and fell ... as he was getting dressed. His back is in terrible pain. He was in terrible discomfort throughout the proceedings."

Melville told jurors: "Mr. Jackson had a medical problem this morning, and it was necessary for me to order his appearance," he said. He cautioned the jury not to "draw any adverse inference about his guilt."

When court finally began, District Attorney Tom Sneddon resumed taking the boy through a narrative of wild living at Neverland for him and his younger brother, now 14, who testified earlier this week.

The alleged victim said Jackson often gave him wine and told him "it was OK because Jesus drank it." The boys also frequently drank rum, vodka and whiskey with Jackson in the wine cellar and in Jackson's office and bedroom, he said.

The witness, a cancer survivor, said he had told Jackson "it was bad for me to drink alcohol" because surgeons had removed one of his kidneys.

The boy said the singer befriended him in 2000 during cancer treatment. The brothers later slept with Jackson in his bed and drank with him "every time he was there."

The witness said he passed out from drinking "once or twice." Jackson molested him "in my memory only twice," but "I kinda feel that it was more than twice," he said.

The first time, he said, Jackson began talking about masturbation in the bedroom when "we had just come back from drinking a lot in the arcade." Both were under the covers, and the boy was wearing a pair of Jackson's pajamas, he said.

Jackson told him "if men don't masturbate, they might get to a level where they might rape a girl or they can be kind of unstable," the boy said. He said Jackson told him that "he saw a boy one time ... who didn't masturbate, and he had sex with a dog."

Jackson said if the boy didn't know how to masturbate, "he would do it for me," the witness said. "I said I didn't want to. ... He said it was OK, that it was natural for boys to do it .... That was when he put his hand in my pants, and he started masturbating me." Afterward, Jackson "tried to say it was OK, kinda went to comfort me, 'cause I felt weird about it. And then we just went to sleep," the boy said.

A day or so later, "he did it one more time," the boy said. They were on top of the bedclothes. "He said that he wanted to teach me," the boy said. "He started doing it to me." Halfway through the incident, "he grabbed my hand and tried to (get me) to do it to him." The boy said he told Jackson he didn't want to and pulled his hand out of Jackson's hand.

The boy said he ejaculated in both incidents.

Sneddon then abruptly ended his questioning and turned the witness over for cross-examination. The prosecutor could have extended his questioning to the end of the day. That could have helped the jury better remember the boy's account through a three-day break. Today, Melville holds hearings on various legal motions. Testimony resumes Monday.

Mesereau quickly bored in on the witness, at times not allowing the boy to finish an answer. They bickered, which prompted the judge to tell them not to argue.

Jackson's lawyer sought to get the boy to admit that he and his mother concocted stories about molestation after meeting with attorneys. One of those lawyers had represented another boy in a 1993 lawsuit against Jackson claiming molestation. Jackson settled that case for $20 million.

The boy said he hadn't told the lawyers about Jackson's misconduct. He revealed it to a psychologist.

Mesereau homed in on testimony by the boy that Jackson hadn't done much to support him during his cancer treatment. In fact, the lawyer said, Jackson had turned his home over to the boy's family.

"Your family stayed (at Neverland) for weeks at a time," Mesereau told the boy.

"Yes," the boy shot back, "and they also kept us there for weeks at a time when we wanted to leave."

[SiteTutor]

it is so easy to intimidate a child ...

[clasione]

Jackson must be going crazy now, for the first time in his life he got dragged to the courthouse and forced to appear. It didn't matter how much money he had or what he did or didn't want to do, he was going to court or he was going to jail....

I'm sure if this hole thing hasn't hit him yet, it hit him that day....

I hear that the kid testimfied pretty well, it doesn't look good for Jackson now...

[SiteTutor]

there are 3 possible outcomes ... Jackson goes to prison, jackson kills himself or somebody hurts him ... or he goes free.

I honeslty don't see him staying free. The nation believes in his guilt. Child molestation is such a serious matter which hits home for many. I believe that this is going to be ugly and he will be sentenced and take his own life. Can you see him in prison?

[clasione]

This is one of those things you just can't predict...


I don't see him going to jail.....

But I don't see him being exonerated either...... We're just going to have to wait and see what happens... Good thing it seems they are not playing around.... Their not going to let this trial take forever...

[SiteTutor]

I am so sick of hearing of it and most people are ... we want answers, no more bs. I think the jury is very likely to convict.

[clasione]

I agree, everyone probably feels the same way.....


Plus the jurors, just want to go home... enough with him already...

[chaosartworks.com]

He's so guilty.
What sort of sentence is he likely to receive?
Presumably he would have to serve his entire sentence in solitary confinement, thats not going to help his mental state a whole lot.
Most entertaining trial since OJ

[clasione]

Cant wait for the outcome....

I agree with Sitetutor - He'll kill himself before doing time....

[drsbanerji]

What if the witnesses are hallucinating or worse? Are we to return to medieval times and burn people at crosses because we 'believe' them to be wrong? Sure I might keep children away from Michael, but what about his rights? And those of you, Master John included, please reflect on why you get such seemingly vicarious delight in the humiliation of one of the most striking Performing Artists of our time?