BB FANS

Its great to hear a judge that is not gonna take any nonsense in his court, and is proceeding at a fast pace - unlike so many other trials that can drag on for crazy long times.
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Can't wait for the trial to get started, this is gonna be fascinating stuff. It remains a shame though that there are no cameras. The O.J simpsom trial was amazing viewing i remember, late night on sky.

Calrissian: Wonders how the 'king of the 80s' will be faring by July.

I heard on Fox news tonight that the trial could start as early as next week.



Jury for Jackson trial selected


A jury was selected ahead of schedule today for the child molestation trial of pop star Michael Jackson.

“We have a jury,” Superior Court Judge Rodney S Melville announced. The panel consists of four men and eight women, ranging in age from 20 to 79.

The racial and ethnic breakdown appeared to be: seven whites, four Hispanics and one Asian.

After the jury was sworn in at the court in Santa Maria, California, lawyers moved on to selection of eight alternate jurors. breakingnews

Jackson abuse trial jury selected
Jury selection in Mr Jackson's trial was postponed twice
A jury of four men and eight women has been selected for the trial in California of pop star Michael Jackson on charges of child abuse.

Lawyers must now select eight alternates, who would take the place of any jurors dismissed during trial, at a court in Santa Maria.

Opening statements in the case could begin early as next week.

Mr Jackson denies plying a boy with alcohol and molesting him. The trial could last up to six months.

If convicted, he could face a maximum 21 years in prison.

Swift process

"We have a jury," Superior Court Judge Rodney S Melville announced.

The jurors range in age from 20 to 79.

The racial and ethnic breakdown appeared to be seven whites, four Hispanics and one Asian. There were no African Americans.

Jury selection had been expected to last several weeks, but took only five court days.

The process was interrupted by a one-week break due to the death of a lawyer's sister, and by another week break after Mr Jackson was hospitalised with flu-like symptoms.

Among the jurors was a woman who said her grandson was required to register as a sexual offender because of a crime, the Associated Press reported. BBC

Half way there, just got the reserves to go yet

that should'nt take this judge too long to push through.

Looks indeed like the trial is no more than 2weeks away at most. Then the show will begin, and it will indeed be one of the weirdest trials ever (in celeb' terms) at least.
I think there are now at least 15-20 A-list Hollywood stars destined to be requested to the stand. Maybe even 30+ ?

*could be a seperate thread in itself, but I do wonder what the 'black community' (ohh how i HATE that term, but you get the point) if M. Jackson is found guilty and sentenced to a very long stay in the slammer. Will it be riots - as many are predicting (in countless web communities).

There are probably people already designing webpages such 'release jackson', domain names are probably already being snapped up.

Calrissian: Invokes the fifth amendment at his discretion.

Everyone knows the American legal system is based upon the theory of he who pays most wins. Look at OJ

Jackson trial to start on Monday

Michael Jackson denies all charges
The trial of Michael Jackson on child abuse charges will begin on Monday.

The jury selection procedure was completed on Thursday when eight people were picked as alternates, to deputise for the jury proper.

The pop star's trial will begin with opening statements at 0830 (1630 GMT) on Monday in Santa Maria, California.

Mr Jackson denies molesting a 13-year-old boy, plying him with alcohol, and conspiring to hold him and his family captive.

The trial could last up to six months. If convicted, Mr Jackson, 46, could face a maximum 21 years in prison.

After jury selection was completed, Superior Court Judge Rodney S Melville said there was a real danger of jury misconduct in such a high-profile case.

He warned jurors that they should not talk to anyone about the case, as he did not want them to become part of the media "circus".


The jurors - eight women and four men - range in age from 20 to 79.

The racial breakdown was seven whites, four Hispanics and one Asian. There were no African Americans.

They were all asked whether they could fairly judge a person of another race.

They were also asked whether they were familiar with the charges against the pop star. Most said they were, but had not followed the case closely in the media.

The alternates included four men - one of whom was black - and four women.

They will take the place of any jurors who are dismissed or fall ill during the trial.

Jury selection had been expected to last several weeks, but took only five court days.

Friday will now be taken up with legal argument behind closed doors. BBC

excellant news, thanks for the update ms. mads.
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Monday then could be interesting, if only to see how the opening statements go. Do they both get like an hour each or something? Frankly, i am no lawyer, and i forget how it all works.

Calrissian: Not guilty.

hes is guilty or arrogance and ignorance if nothing else

Friday, 25 February, 2005, 17:04 GMT :BBC

The family of a woman who died after being moved out of a trauma room to accommodate Michael Jackson say they will sue the hospital and the pop star.
Manuela Gomez Ruiz, 74, was moved out of the room at the California hospital after Mr Jackson arrived suffering from "flu-like symptoms".

Mrs Ruiz, who was being treated for a massive heart attack, died later that day, the family told ABC News.

The hospital said it was confident of the level of care it gave patients.

The Marian Medical Centre in Santa Maria expressed its deepest sympathy to Mrs Ruiz's family, adding that patient privacy laws prevented it from commenting on individual patients' care, the news channel reported.

A spokesman for Mr Jackson said the pop star sent his condolences to the family, but added that it was "outrageous" that Mr Jackson's name should be involved, as the situation was beyond his authority and control.

Mr Jackson was taken to hospital as the jury was being selected for his trial on charges of child abuse. Proceedings were delayed for a week as he recovered.

Mrs Ruiz's daughter-in-law, Anna Ruiz, told the news channel that she saw Mr Jackson come into the hospital.

"He walked in," she said. "When I saw him, he was walking unassisted."

She says Mrs Ruiz was taken off a ventilator and her breathing was manually assisted with a handpump during the move.

The grandmother had two more heart attacks that day before she died.

The family says the chaos caused by Mr Jackson's arrival distracted staff, and that only two visitors were allowed into Mrs Ruiz's new room at a time, limiting the amount of time the family could spend with her.

Anna Ruiz said the hospital's policy "needs to be changed" if a person with flu took precedence over a person with a heart attack.

I hate to become holier-then-thou calrissian, but i feel the entertainment value would be lost on the allegedly abused children. So i'm quite glad its not televised

JACKSON: A DOUBLE TAKE
Edward Moss is no stranger to transforming himself into Michael Jackson - after all it's his full time job.

But this will be his most demanding role to date, Sky correspondent Matt Smith reports.

Every day as part of Sky's Jackson Trial reconstructions, he'll have to copy both the singer's appearance - and his courtroom performance.

He says: "You have to capture his mannerisms and body language because I'm not on a stage singing or dancing, I'm actually having to portray his character, as him as a person not the entertainer."

In preparation for the role, Edward's been studying the singer closely - watching for any clues about how he's likely to act when he does takes the stand.

"I've had to watch a bunch of tapes, just listen to the way he talks and the way he moves. It's been a difficult challenge"

With TV cameras banned from the trial, Sky News and Sky One will instead re-create the day's events - using official transcripts and carefully selected actors.

The aim is to show people what the judge won't let them see.


Executive producer Simon Bucks says: "We wanted to allow viewers on Sky News and Sky One to be able to see what it looked like, what was going on in the courtroom.

"The cameras are not allowed in, so we decided the only way to do this was reconstruct the case."

In order to make those reconstructions as realistic as possible, Sky producers decided to re-create the courtroom.

Working alongside US channel E Entertainment television, a replica has been built in their Los Angeles TV studio.

Set designer Larry Basso says: "We ran up to Santa Maria and sat in on a couple of court sessions and did a couple of sketches and eyeballed what they had and we duplicated it pretty much to a tee."

With the trial now due to start on Monday, the stage is set to recreate the celebrity court case of the decade - and let Sky viewers decide for themselvesSky

Yes, of course, there is 'that issue' of course, but it goes without saying.
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Personally, i see no reason why all cases should not be televised.
As for the aspect of 'entertaining'. Well, it WILL be to many people, how could it not be, it is the trial of one of the world's leading music artists. That does in no way detract from the utter seriousness of the case.

Within a few months, hopefully the case will be wrapped up, and 'justice' will be done, one way or another.

Calrissian: Awaiting the opening statements.

Jackson child abuse trial begins

Michael Jackson has strenuously denied the 10 charges
Pop star Michael Jackson has gone on trial in California for child abuse.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville read the indictment to the jury, which precedes opening statements from the prosecution and defence.

About 1,500 members of the media are in the town of Santa Maria for the case, which could last up to six months.

Mr Jackson, 46, denies molesting a boy, plying him with alcohol and conspiring to kidnap him and his family.



The singer arrived at the court wearing a black suit, gold buttoned waistcoat and a red armband, accompanied for the first time by his mother Catherine and his brother Jermaine.

His defence lawyers are expected to argue that Mr Jackson has been framed by the boy's mother.


They have said they will present evidence that suggests the woman has made similar claims against other people, including her ex-husband.

Mr Jackson has accused the prosecutor who brought the case, Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon, of waging a personal vendetta against him.

Mr Sneddon is delivering the prosecution's opening statement.

The main stage of the trial will reveal full details of the allegations.


The process in Santa Maria, about 170 miles (275km) north of Los Angeles, was completed in five days, although it was held up twice.

The trial was postponed for a week after a death in defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau's family, and for a further week after Mr Jackson was taken to hospital with flu-like symptoms.

The family of a woman who died after being moved out of a trauma room to accommodate Mr Jackson say they will now sue the hospital and the star.


Judge Melville has warned the jurors and eight alternates, who will come in if any juror is dismissed or falls ill, to avoid talking about the case.

They were all asked whether they could fairly judge a person of another race and whether they were familiar with the charges against the pop star. Most said they were, but had not followed the case closely.



On Friday, Judge Melville said evidence that the then 13-year-old accuser's mother had made abuse charges against her ex-husband and store security guards could be used in the trial.

Mr Jackson's lawyers have said they intend to call more than 350 witnesses.

Stars on the list include Liz Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Eddie Murphy, Diana Ross, Macaulay Culkin, Smokey Robinson, David Blaine, Larry King, Jay Leno and Uri Geller.

If convicted, Mr Jackson could face up to 21 years in prison.
BBC

'JACKSON IN KIDNAP PLOT'
The prosecution in the Michael Jackson trial has accused the singer of hatching a plot to kidnap the boy he is accused of sexually abusing.

Prosecutor Tom Sneddon alleged that for years the pop superstar had been in tremendous financial debt.

This, he said, led Jackson and his aides to come up with a plot to hold the boy and his family against their will in order to limit the damage caused by Martin Bashir's television documentary.

Mr Sneddon said the British journalist's programme had rocked the singer's world.

"His life was rocked so badly, his close friend and confidant Marc Schaffel called it a train wreck," Sneddon told the court in Santa Maria, California.

Mr Bashir is expected to be called as the prosecution's first witness.

His documentary 'Living with Michael Jackson' showed the 46-year-old pop star holding hands with the boy who is now accusing him of molestation, and admitting that he often shared his bed with children.

Despite his efforts to avoid appearing in court, the reporter is now the prosecution's lead witness and will be asked to testify after the opening statements are made. Sky