Michael Jackson, Prosecutors Engage in Court Showdown
Feb. 28, 2005 — -- The much-anticipated courtroom showdown between Santa Barbara County, Calif., prosecutors and Michael Jackson is under way.
The 12-member jury has been seated, the eight alternates have been picked and opening statements have begun in the child molestation trial of "The King of Pop." Jurors are ready to hear testimony in the trial of Jackson, who is accused of molesting a now-15-year-old boy who spent time at his Neverland ranch. The boy, who was 13 at the time of the alleged molestation, is believed to be the cancer survivor who appeared with the singer in the 2003 British documentary "Living With Michael Jackson."
Jackson, 46, has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges that include felony conspiracy with 28 overt acts involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. If convicted of all the charges, he faces up to 18 years in prison.
Since a court-imposed gag order forbids all parties from publicly discussing the case, very little is known about the evidence both sides will present. For Jackson, the trial is a chance to gain vindication through an acquittal and perhaps put behind the cloud of suspicion that has followed him since a 12-year-old boy made similar allegations against him in 1993. For Santa Barbara County prosecutors, the trial is a chance to convict and imprison Jackson.
Ghosts of Jackson's -- and His Accuser's Family's -- Past
Jackson's defense has suggested that prosecutors -- particularly Prosecutor Thomas Sneddon, who was involved in the 1993 investigation -- have a vendetta against the singer, a claim the prosecution has denied. Jackson has always denied wrongdoing in that scandal and has denied ever harming children. He was never criminally charged as prosecutors decided not to pursue the case after they said the alleged victim refused to testify.
But Jackson settled a civil suit filed by the boy's family for a reported $20 million, sparking questions that that have dogged him to this day. Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville, who is presiding over Jackson's trial, has yet to rule on whether prosecutors can present testimony about prior alleged wrongdoing by Jackson -- including the 1993 scandal -- even though the singer has never been criminally charged for the accusations. A change in California law following the 1993 Jackson investigation enables prosecutors to present the evidence.
Prosecutors believe the evidence shows an alleged pattern of bad behavior on Jackson's part toward children that they believe was duplicated in his current criminal case.
"The popular thinking with evidence [among jurors] is that, 'Well, if he was accused those other times, then he must have done it this time,'" said Ronald Carlson, professor of law at the University of Georgia.
However, Melville has ruled that Jackson's lawyers can present evidence at his child molestation trial that the alleged victim's mother has made abuse charges in the past. Jackson's lawyers have indicated that they plan to cast doubt on the credibility of the alleged victim's case and his family by focusing on his mother and arguing that she has coaxed her son into making false allegations against the star to get a monetary settlement.
In 2001, the family won a $137,500 out-of-court settlement from J.C. Penney stemming from a civil lawsuit where the mother claimed that a guard sexually assaulted her by groping her when she, Jackson's young accuser and his brother were allegedly beaten in a parking lot in 1998 after the boy left the store with clothes he hadn't paid for. Sources told ABC News that a paralegal who worked for the attorney representing the accuser's mother has told the Jackson defense team that the mother lied under oath and fabricated the charges against J.C. Penney security guards, and that she told her she coached her son to lie during his deposition against J.C. Penney.
Battle Over Seized 'Adult Material' Taken From Neverland
Another potential obstacle for the defense will be the erotic material -- DVDs, magazines, books featuring naked pictures of boys -- seized from his Neverland ranch by investigators. Prosecutors have argued that Jackson seduced the alleged victim by giving him alcohol -- wine he reportedly called "Jesus Juice" that was sometimes served in Coke cans -- and showing him pornographic material.
The defense gained a pretrial victory when Melville ruled that prosecutors could not refer to the evidence as pornography, obscene or erotic, but as "adult material." The judge also ruled prosecutors could not refer to Jackson's accuser as a victim but as a "complaining witness."
However, despite the semantics, some experts believe jurors will not look favorably on Jackson when they hear that he may have shown his alleged victim "adult material."
"It's tough to defend against," said Steve Cron, a California defense attorney. "When prosecutors introduce photos, DVDs that Jackson allegedly showed boys to put them in a compromising position, that's not going to fly very well with the conservative middle class people in Santa Maria [Calif.]. That's the Achilles heel for Jackson."
Credibility of Alleged Victim Crucial
Still, the testimony and credibility of Jackson's alleged victim will be key to the prosecution's case. According to grand jury testimony reviewed by ABC News, the alleged victim gave grand jurors a vivid account of how Jackson allegedly touched him inappropriately, helped him masturbate and gave him wine, despite his having only one working kidney. He is expected to repeat the explicit testimony to jurors at Jackson's criminal trial.
ABC News has reported that the alleged victim's younger brother and sister witnessed alleged wrongdoing by Jackson, and that prosecutors want to call them to the stand. Prosecutors allege that the sister witnessed Jackson giving her brother alcoholic beverages, and that the younger brother may have witnessed additional wrongdoing.
Courtroom observers expect Jackson's defense, led by attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., gently attempt to undermine the testimony of the young witnesses, particularly the accuser.
But Jackson's lawyers will vigorously attack the credibility of the prosecution's case when it confronts the alleged victim's mother.
"They will attack the mother and say that the bringing of these charges was for monetary purpose, that this is all about getting Michael's money," Carlson said. "The mother and some of older members of [the accuser's] family will get raked over the coals pretty good [by the defense]. As with all cases involving children, the defense has use deft questioning with younger witnesses because they don't want to give jurors the impression they're bullying a child."
Did the Alleged Victim and His Family Change Their Story?
The defense may also try to undermine the allegations of the alleged victim and his family by confronting them with the favorable account of Jackson they gave to investigators from Los Angeles Department of Family Services.
ABC News and other media organizations have reported that the alleged victim told investigators after the broadcast of "Living With Michael Jackson" in February 2003 that he was not sexually abused by Jackson and had not slept in his bed. The family described Jackson as a father figure in a video made by a former Jackson videographer, ABC News has reported.
The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services determined that "The King of Pop" had committed no wrongdoing. Santa Barbara County investigators initially agreed with Los Angeles officials' findings, sources told ABC News. However, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department took another look at the case, and that ultimately led to the first raid on Neverland and Jackson's arrest in November 2003.
A Lawsuit From the Past, an Ugly Custody Battle
In addition, the defense could call the father of the alleged victim -- the ex-husband of the boy's mother -- to cast doubt on the prosecution's case. In pretrial motions, Jackson's defense team cited a 2001 civil lawsuit the alleged victim's family filed against J.C. Penney and Tower Records as they attempted to portray them as "professional plaintiffs" who have a history of committing fraud.
In their lawsuit, the family alleged that Jackson's accuser, his mother and brother were beaten in a parking lot in 1998 after the boy left the store with clothes he hadn't paid for. The complaint was amended when the mother later claimed a guard sexually assaulted her by groping her during the alleged beating.
The family eventually received a $150,000 total settlement from J.C. Penney and Tower Records. But Jackson's team has suggested the mother made questionable allegations against the store's employees, just like she did against her son's father in the midst of their contentious custody battle.
The mother made child molestation allegations against the father as they battled for child custody. The father of Jackson's alleged victim pleaded no contest to spousal abuse in 2001 and child cruelty in 2002 and has been barred from seeing his children. He and the alleged victim's mother have continued to battle over the issue as he lost a bid in 2004 to regain child visitation rights. In a police report filed in 2001 during their bitter divorce, the alleged victim's mother accused her husband of child molestation, telling police she saw him touch their daughter inappropriately when she was 3 or 4 years old.
In the same report, the daughter also accused the father of false imprisonment for allegedly locking her "inside his vehicle against her will." One report alleged that the father told his daughter that if she yelled he would kill Jackson's alleged victim (her brother) and the whole family. The father was never convicted of the allegations made in the police report. His lawyer said the mother has fabricated the accusations.
Some believe the defense could use the custody battle and civil lawsuit to suggest that the mother of the alleged victim has a habit of making false allegations and filing lawsuits to get money.
"I can see them calling the father," Cron said. "They [the alleged victim's father and mother] hate each other and they've had a nasty custody battle. But at the same time, prosecutors could question the credibility of the father with the custody battle."
An Alleged Conspiracy by Jackson and His Associates
According to the prosecution, the alleged victim's younger brother says one of Jackson's associates allegedly threatened to kill him and his family if he told anyone about the singer serving him and his siblings alcohol. ABC News has reported that Jackson's defense plans to counter allegations of giving a child an intoxicating agent and showing him adult materials by arguing that the alleged victim and his brother were free to roam Neverland at will and were not always in Jackson's presence. Sources have told ABC News that the defense will argue the boys often drank alcohol and looked at adult material outside of Jackson's view.
The conspiracy charge against Jackson refers to his alleged attempts through associates to quiet the alleged victim and his family. The prosecutor alleges that five unindicted Jackson associates played various roles in surveilling the alleged victim's family, taking the boy and his siblings out of school, making them virtual prisoners of "The King of Pop" after "Living With Michael Jackson" aired, getting passports for the family and pressuring them to leave the country.
ABC News has reported that Jackson's defense team says the conspiracy allegations are false and that it has receipts and paperwork that prove the alleged victim and his family were never held virtually hostage by the star. The defense argues, ABC News has reported, that the family requested Jackson's help because they complained about being harassed after the broadcast of "Living With Michael Jackson" and that they willingly came to Neverland.
Star-Studded Potential Witness List
Jackson's case has attracted worldwide media attention, and several notable names have been included on the potential witness lists in the trial.
"20/20" reporter Martin Bashir, who interviewed Jackson on "Living With Michael Jackson" before he was hired by ABC News in 2004, has been subpoenaed to testify by the prosecution. Former child star and Jackson friend Corey Feldman, who defended the singer in the 1993 scandal, also has been subpoenaed by the prosecution and defense. In an interview with Bashir before his subpoena, Feldman claimed that he believed, upon further reflection on their friendship, that Jackson behaved inappropriately toward him by discussing pictures of naked adults with him but insisted the singer did not molest him. Feldman also said he never saw Jackson molest other children.
The potential witness list for Jackson's defense was a who's who of celebrities that included Stevie Wonder, Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross, Kobe Bryant and Jay Leno, among many others. Courtroom observers say that the defense will not likely call all these witnesses. Jackson's famous friends and acquaintances will mainly tell jurors about his character.
"They will be called mainly as character witnesses, talk about what a good guy he is, that he has a good reputation in the entertainment industry, has spent all his life helping children," Carlson said. "The defense may hope that jurors will think that if someone as reputable as this celebrity thinks Michael Jackson's OK, then he must be an OK guy. You've heard of guilt by association. Well, this is sort of the reverse -- innocence by association."
Still, others argue that relying on celebrity character witnesses could backfire on Jackson, especially if they do not know him very well or talk about his parenting skills. It could open the door to testimony about some of Jackson's reported eccentricities or past controversies, such as the 2002 incident where he dangled his then-infant son Prince Michael II over a balcony in Germany while acknowledging screaming fans. (Authorities found no reason to criminally charge Jackson with wrongdoing in that incident.)
"The prosecution could challenge the [celebrity] witnesses and ask, 'Well, how well do you really know Michael Jackson? Have you ever been in the bedroom with him while he was with children?'" Cron said. "And I don't think they want to go in the parenting direction because that goes to what kind of man he is. What kind of man dangles his child over a balcony? I don't think they [defense attorneys] want to go there."
Right now, it may be too early to predict whether Jackson will take the stand. But some believe he is not likely to testify.
"I don't think he'll do it. He may be too scared," Cron said. "But at this point, it's really too early to tell. And the defense may not make that decision until down the line, as they see how things are going."