Trial of Michael Jackson

People vs. Jackson (full case name: The People of the State of California v. Michael Joseph Jackson) was a 2005 child sexual abuse trial involving recording artist Michael Jackson. The accuser was a boy, Gavin Arvizo, who was 13 years old at the time of the alleged crimes. Jackson was indicted for four counts of molesting a minor, four counts of intoxicating a minor, one count of abduction, and one count of conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive at his 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch. He denied all counts and asserted that he himself was the victim of a failed extortion attempt. On June 13, 2005, the jury found Jackson not guilty on all charges.

Early events

Bashir documentary

Main article: Living with Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson Rocks!!!!!!!

In a Granada Television documentary entitled Living with Michael Jackson, British journalist Martin Bashir interviewed Jackson extensively. The film was broadcast in the UK on February 3, 2003, and in the U.S. three days later. The boy is shown holding hands with Jackson and resting his head on Jackson's shoulder. At trial, the boy testified that Jackson initiated the hand-holding, but that he had put his head on Jackson's shoulder because he was "really close to Jackson" and Jackson was his "best friend". Both he and Jackson testified that they had slept in the same room, but not in the same bed. They also agreed that each had offered to sleep on the floor and let the other have the bed.

Later, the boy complained that he had not realized that the footage would be broadcast all over the world and that, after it aired, he was teased by his friends. His mother stated that she had not given Bashir permission to film her son and was not even aware of it prior to broadcast. Jackson stated in the documentary that many children, including Macaulay Culkin, his younger brother Kieran, and his sisters had slept in Jackson's bed; all maintained that nothing inappropriate occurred.

Responding to criticisms of the broadcast, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas W. Sneddon Jr. stated that, under California law, the distinction was irrelevant. An adult sleeping in the same bed as a child is not a criminal offense, unless "affirmative, offensive conduct" occurs.

Jackson and his aides were indicted for conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment, and extortion. Some sources were critical of the indictments, believing them to be an attempt to ameliorate PR damage caused by the documentary. Jackson was also indicted for child molestation, based on the accuser's allegations of events subsequent to the documentary, when he and Jackson had already been friends for several years. One defense to this accusation was that it contradicted logic, i.e., that Jackson would not have molested the accuser after the documentary aired. As his attorney put it,

"The whispering campaign was already well under way, there is no way in my view that Jackson molested Gavin Arvizo and certainly not after this broadcast aired."

The Bashir documentation was aired in the US on March 6th 2003; Gavin Arvizo's given time frame for the alleged molestations was February 20th 2003 - March 12th 2003. The family was acquainted with Michael Jackson for almost 2 years but the alleged victim claimed he was molested after the footage was filmed and at a time "the whole world was already watching".

Rebuttal video

In response to the Bashir documentary, a second video called Take Two or The Footage You Were Never Meant to See, was aired. The production included Bashir praising Michael's qualities as a father and his relationship with children in general, while in the other production Bashir said he was "disturbed" about Michael's relationship with children. Further, the production included an interview with the family, filmed on the night of February 19, 2003 in Moslehi's home. This part of the footage was not aired because the videographer Hamid Moslehi refused to hand it over, following a financial dispute with Jackson. It was found by police in a search of Moslehi's home in November 2003, and it showed the accuser's family praising Jackson, with the accuser insisting no molestation had occurred and that Jackson was "innocent". Arvizo, his sister Daveline, brother Star and mother Janet were "upfront" and said that inappropriate behavior had "absolutely not occurred" while also calling him a father figure. They also insisted that they slept in Jackson's bed although Jackson himself always slept on the floor. To further the rebuttal Janet Arvizo issued the statement:

"The relationship that Michael has with my children is beautiful, loving, father-son and daughter one. To my children and me Michael is part of the family.". She also stated that she was thinking of taking legal action against Martin Bashir.

DCFS interview

On February 20, 2003, Janet Arvizo was interviewed by the Sensitive Case Unit of Los Angeles's Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS), as part of an investigation jointly carried out with the LAPD. A school official from the Los Angeles Unified School District had lodged a complaint out of concern for the boy who would later be Jackson's accuser, and his younger brother. The official did so out of general neglect by their mother and sexual abuse by Jackson, after watching the Bashir documentary. The entire family insisted that no inappropriate contact with Jackson occurred; moreover, the mother said that the children were never left alone with Jackson. The case was closed; the charges marked as "unfounded." Afterwards, in November 2003, when there was outside interest in connection with charges against Jackson, a report was made.

Plans for a trip to Brazil, final departure from Neverland

The family planned a trip to Brazil. These plans play a role in the allegations. According to witnesses, the Jackson camp told the family that there were death threats related to the airing against the family. The Arvizos claim that Jackson planned to trap the family in Brazil to keep them from making allegations. However, the defense asked why Jackson would buy the family a two-way ticket to and from Brazil if his plans were to "trap" the family in another country.

After the interview, the children went back to Neverland, and a day later, their mother came as well after making preparations for the trip to Brazil, although, she says, she did not really want to go. From February 25 to March 2, the family and some of Jackson's staff stayed in a hotel in Calabasas, California, and they went shopping in preparation for the trip to Brazil. After that, they stayed at Neverland again. On March 10, the mother and the accuser went to the hospital with a urine sample of the accuser, for a scheduled medical check-up. Afterwards the accuser went back to Neverland, while the mother went to stay with her fiancé. It would be their last stay at the Neverland Ranch. Apparently, the accuser was very angry with his mother that she would not allow him to return to Neverland.

Mother of accuser seeks legal advice

Janet approached Larry Feldman, the attorney who represented Jordan Chandler (first accuser) in 1993. This made some believe she was intent on getting money because she went to an attorney before the police. The child psychologist Stan Katz told Santa Barbara sheriff's investigator Paul Zelis that "Mr. Feldman actually referred these kids to me. Because they had come to him in this lawsuit." . Other people believe that she sought legal advice because she was afraid that she could be charged with child endangerment when the abuse accusations surfaced. It would have been difficult for Janet - or any other parent - to explain why they allowed their sons to sleep with a middle-aged man. It was also the same attorney who helped get an out-of-court settlement for Jordan Chandler for a reported $20 million. Feldman then sent the family to psychologist, Dr. Stan Katz, who was also the same psychologist that assisted the first accuser's family to uncover whether there might have been sexual abuse. The accuser's brother told him that he had witnessed Jackson touching his brother, after which Katz reported this to the authorities, as is compulsory for someone of his profession in such a case, being a "mandatory reporter of child abuse" although he later stated that in his opinion Jackson was not a pedophile but a regressed 10 year old.

Feldman and Katz were later focused on by the defense, stating that the mother (Janet) went to the same people that triggered the first investigation on Jackson back in 1993.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department investigation

In June 2003 the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department started an investigation. In July 2003 they first interviewed the family. On November 18, 2003, a team of more than 70 investigators from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office and Sheriff's Department descended upon Jackson's Neverland Ranch with a search warrant. These actions were criticized because more law enforcement personnel 'raided' Neverland Ranch than for any murderer or serial killer in American history.

The district attorney opened a website for an 'open casting call' for anyone who has been molested by Michael Jackson and/or who has any information against Jackson.

Arvizo family

Jackson's attorney alleged that the charges were made in retaliation by the family after the family members realized that Jackson was not going to continue supporting them financially indefinitely. The family was portrayed during trial as exhibiting a long history of attempting to extort celebrities.

J. C. Penney: alleged assault, litigation and psychiatric analysis

In August 1998 the Arvizo family was detained on a shoplifting charge at a J.C. Penney department store in West Covina, California. According to J.C. Penney, Gavin and Star Arvizo were sent out of the store by their father with an armload of stolen clothes, the family was detained and Janet started a "scuffle" with security officers. The shoplifting charge was dropped, but Janet filed a lawsuit for US $ 152,000, saying that when she was detained she was "viciously beaten" by three security officers, one of whom was female. The psychiatrist hired by J. C. Penney to evaluate Janet Arvizo found her to have rehearsed her children into supporting her story and to be both "delusional" and "depressed," although Janet's own doctor found her to be only the latter. More than two years after the original alleged incident Janet added a further charge that one of the male officers had "sexually fondled" her breasts and pelvis area for "up to seven minutes". Ultimately the department store settled out of court with the family for US $ 75,000.

Gavin Arvizo

Gavin Arvizo was born in December 1989. He was 13 years old between February 20 and March 12, 2003 when the alleged crimes were said to have been committed, two weeks after Bashir's documentary aired in the US. In 2000, the accuser was diagnosed with cancer and had his spleen and a kidney removed. Jackson organized a blood drive and accommodated transport for his chemotherapy treatment. Soon thereafter, Jamie Masada, the owner of a comedy club called Laugh Factory, fulfilled his wish to meet Jackson, and the boy visited Neverland eight times, where in two occasions he and his family met Michael Jackson as on the other six times Jackson was not home or not available. In 2001, there were no visits but he and Jackson had 20 or so telephone conversations regarding his recovery as the cancer had remissed. In 2002, the documentary Living With Michael Jackson was filmed, and aired February 6 2003. Until February 2005, the accuser was officially anonymized as "John Doe" by the court and the media, although his full name was already available all over the Internet.

Father of Gavin Arvizo

His father, David Arvizo, visited Neverland several times in 2000, sometimes with the whole family, other times with just the children. After 2000, the accuser's parents were divorced, and his mother had custody over him and his older sister and younger brother. In 2002 David Arvizo pleaded no contest to spousal abuse and in 2003 pleaded no contest to child cruelty. After having completed classes in parenting and anger management the father applied for having a three-year restraining order against him temporarily lifted, to allow him to see his three children. He claimed he wanted to see for himself how his son's health was, and hoped to find out whether the boy and Jackson had sexual contact. He blamed his ex-wife for allowing the boy to sleep in the same room with Jackson, and also claimed that she had been in a mental hospital.

As of late 2004, David insisted: "My children are routinely rehearsed by their mother Janet to do or say whatever she wishes."

Mother of Gavin Arvizo

When the Arvizo family and Jackson were on good terms, she encouraged all the children to call Jackson "Daddy," even though he had three children of his own. The accuser's mother, Janet Ventura Arvizo, has been identified as the most problematic of the prosecution witnesses. Before the trial, she had committed welfare fraud. Her behavior of snapping her fingers and staring at the jurors was criticized by jurors after the trial. There were often instances when the court erupted in laughter over her answers. She claimed that she and her family was held against their will at Neverland Ranch. Despite the claim, during their supposed days of captivity, she and her family had gone out to shop at the local Toys R Us, visited the beauty parlor, had braces removed at the dentist, and had gotten visa forms for a trip to Brazil in downtown LA. Domestic staff testified that the idea that the family were prisoners of Neverland was ludicrous, as there is no fence surrounding the property and opposite the busy main road were two schools. In fact the housekeeper testified that the Arvizo family enjoyed their stay at Neverland, often at the expense of the host. She insisted that Michael Jackson's associates wanted to keep them there because of the negative impact of Martin Bashir's documentary on Jackson's image, and, due to damage control, that they were forced to stay to film a rebuttal documentary. Her plan to escape Neverland by hot air balloon was met with widespread laughter in the courtroom. She was often unresponsive to questioning, even by the prosecution. She seemed to argue defensively over seemingly small issues, such as whether she had a body wax or only a leg wax. She even accused the defense of altering a receipt for the body wax. Questions were often answered with speeches or catch-phrases, rather than answers. She made repeated use of a few catch phrases, such as "It's burned inside my memory", "Money doesn't buy happiness", and testified to the sheriff that Jackson wanted to kidnap her and the family with a "hot air balloon".

Janet Arvizo -- after her marriage to major Jay Jackson now ironically called Janet Jackson -- was convicted for welfare fraud in February 2006. She had to serve 150 hours of community service and to pay US $ 8,600 in restitution.

Arrest and investigation

Warrant and arrest

Along with the warrant to search the premises was a warrant for the arrest of Jackson. Jackson was in Las Vegas, Nevada at the time recording a music video for his most recent hit single "One More Chance" from his Number Ones greatest hits album, which had been released at midnight, just hours before the warrants were issued and the allegations broke to the media.

On November 20, Jackson flew in a leased jet to Santa Barbara Airport and surrendered himself to California police. Driven by police to the Santa Barbara County Jail, he emerged from the police vehicle in handcuffs. Many lawyers and Jackson supporters saw it as a police and media attempt to convince the public of Jackson's guilt, while some saw a racial element to the police's actions. He was charged with "lewd or lascivious acts" with a child younger than 14 under section 288(a) of the California Penal Code.

Jackson posted $3 million bail, later requesting a reduction of that amount. The prosecution opposed this as they argued that Jackson might consider going to live in another country as a fugitive, citing Andrew Luster as an example: he fled to Mexico, notwithstanding his $1 million bail bond. Many argued that Jackson had good reason to be angered at the high level of bail as Phil Spector only had to pay $1 million in his murder trial; the high amount was seen as racist by some. The bail was later ordered returned by the judge after Jackson's acquittal.

The judge was Rodney S. Melville, 62. Jackson's lawyers included Mark Geragos, until Jackson replaced his team with Thomas Mesereau Jr., who briefly represented actor Robert Blake.

Jackson had been temporarily exempted from the requirement to stay in the US, for a possible trip to Britain ending no later than January 6, but he did not use this exemption. Shortly after being arrested, Jackson was required to surrender his passport to Santa Barbara authorities. At the time of his booking, his weight was measured at 56 kilograms (120 lb), a notably low weight for a 1.8 metre (5 ft11 in) middle-aged man. A series of public vigils to protest his innocence, organized by fans, were held on November 23.

On November 25, 2003 it was revealed that unknown to Jackson, the private jet that was chartered to take him and his attorney from Vegas to California was secretly wired with recording devices. A third party took recordings on this trip and attempted to sell them to major television and radio networks for an extremely large amount of money; all declined to purchase. A restraining order against the jet company has been issued prohibiting the videotape from being shown to any third parties; a massive lawsuit topping the $500,000,000 mark has been filed by Jackson's party against the perpetrators. On November 26, 2003, it was revealed that XtraJet, the company that found the recordings and hidden cameras on Jackson's plane, on Monday, showed the video to several news organizations on November 24. Fox News reported that the tape shows Jackson calm and relaxed on the plane. Jackson's legal team (at that point) were awarded $18 million in damages in 2008.

Allegations against police

During a 60 Minutes interview with Ed Bradley, Jackson claimed that he was manhandled by police during his booking. Among other things, he claimed that his shoulder was dislocated, that he was locked in a dirty bathroom for "over 45 minutes". He also showed the camera clearly visible large bruises on his arm which he said was a result of tight handcuffs. He did not formally file his complaints.

The Santa Barbara County police released video tape showing Jackson's arrest. They also released audio tape of his ride into the police station. In it Jackson complains about the handcuffs and is politely told by an officer how he can relieve the discomfort. He is heard to be whistling (nervously) and he asks for the air conditioning to be turned on; it is. Police allege this proves Jackson's claims are false, Jackson (and his family) claim that what is being shown is only a biased view of what occurred. California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer ordered an independent investigation into Jackson's complaints. After interviewing 163 witnesses, the complaints were rejected in August 2004.

Charging

On December 18, 2003, Jackson was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent, in order to commit that felony, in February and March 2003; all regarding the same boy under 14.

The felony complaint stated that Jackson had, on seven occasions, "willfully, unlawfully and lewdly committed a lewd and lascivious act upon, and with, the boy's body and certain parts and members thereof, with the intent of arousing, appealing to and gratifying the lust, passions and sexual desires" of Jackson and the boy and that this sexual conduct had been "substantial." Also that, on two of these occasions, Jackson had administered to the boy an intoxicating agent with intent thereby to enable and assist himself to carry out the previously mentioned act. Jackson denied these allegations and said that the sleepovers were non-sexual. He still described the boy on whose statements the accusations were based as "a sweet child"; he said the boy was manipulated by greedy parents.

At the prosecution's request the judge issued a gag order which forbade the following parties to talk to the news media; the defendant, the prosecutor, defense counsel, any attorney working in their offices, their agents, staff, experts, any judicial officer or court employee, any law enforcement employee and any agency involved in the case and any persons subpoenaed or expected to testify. The purpose was that people among whom a jury had to be selected were not influenced. However, he would consider proposals to allow either side to answer reporters' questions about rumors surrounding the case.

Arraignment

Jackson was arraigned on January 16, 2004, at the court of Santa Maria. He was admonished by the judge for turning up 20 minutes late. He entered a plea of "Not Guilty." Hundreds of fans and an international media circus surrounded the event, and Jackson responded with a dance atop a parked SUV. Subsequently, police decided to enforce more order from the public for safety reasons.

Judge Melville turned down a media request for publication of 82 pages of documents and related tape recordings on the grounds of violation of the parties' privacy rights and complicating the process of selecting an unbiased jury. It concerned the boy's accounts of what allegedly happened, interviews with his family, statements made during the child's psychological counseling and information about the Chandler's case.

Court sessions

In a court session on February 13, 2004 it was revealed that the defense had just received 400 pages of evidence from the lead prosecutor and that hundreds more were expected. The judge said he wanted the trial to begin before the end of 2004. Both sides agreed that was possible. Jackson was not present. He was also not at sessions where only prosecution witnesses were required to testify, to determine whether there was enough evidence to start the trial itself.

In the court session of April 2, 2004 the judge ordered papers to be released from the previous $3 million lawsuit started by the accuser's family against J.C.Penney department store (see above); Jackson's defense said they would be used to show Jackson's innocence.

On April 5, 2005 Jackson posted bail in the amount of $3,000,000 from Plotkin Bail Bonds located in Norwalk, California, paying a bond of $300,000.

Grand jury proceedings and indictment

Grand jury proceedings (without defense and without judge) in Santa Barbara, starting in March 2004, led to Jackson's indictment on April 21, 2004. The grand jury was composed of nineteen jurors; the indictment required the votes of at least twelve jurors. Prosecution witnesses testified without defense cross-examination. The judge ruled that witnesses before the grand jury could talk to defense attorneys about their knowledge of the case as long as the witnesses did not tell what they saw in the grand jury room or what questions they were asked and their answers. Many grand jury witnesses were sneaked into the building where the grand jury was meeting, sometimes covered in blankets to hide their identities. In February 2005 The Smoking Gun published the Grand Jury transcripts (1903 pages) .

Mark Geragos was replaced by Robert Blake's defense attorney Thomas Mesereau. Brafman and Geragos learned of their replacement through telephoned press inquiries.

The second arraignment was on April 30, and attended by defense counsel Mark Geragos. The new charges, to which Jackson pleaded not guilty, were similar to the earlier ones, allegedly "on or about and between" February 20 and March 12, 2003, but with the addition of conspiracy involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. The first two referred to the allegation that the accuser, although he was free to move within Neverland, was at some stages not allowed to leave the ranch, even when his mother wanted this to occur.

News organizations' cases for releasing evidence were heard at a hearing on May 28, 2004. The judge refused to release the full indictment or grand jury testimony. On July 28, 2004 judge Melville granted a delay in the trial. On December 3 and 4, 2004, Neverland was searched again.

Geraldo Rivera, a longtime friend of the Jackson family, explained that Michael Jackson will never have sleepovers with children not related to him again, because he understands that, however innocent his conduct has been, it violates a social norm.

Alleged co-conspirators

The indictment named five alleged co-conspirators (not indicted themselves):

• Frank Tyson (also called Frank Cascio), 23, who was Jackson's personal assistant, and allegedly threatened the accuser's younger brother, who was a witness of part of the alleged crimes. Tyson and Jackson were friends since Tyson was a small boy. Tyson's father was the concierge at a New York hotel where Jackson stayed. Right after the 1993 allegations, Tyson and his younger brother were seen traveling the world with Jackson.
• Vince Amen (also called Vinnie), 24, who worked for Jackson's production company and allegedly held the family at Neverland against their will – got acquainted with Jackson through Tyson
• Marc Schaffel – producer of the unreleased song What More Can I Give featuring various celebrities on vocals in an attempt to raise funds for disaster relief following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks; his house was searched by the police in 2004.
• Dieter Wiesner
• Ronald Konitzer

The trial

The jury selection for the jury trial started on January 31, 2005, and lasted less than a month. Twelve of 200 people were selected for the final list of jurors in the 2005 Michael Jackson trial.

The final 12 jurors consisted of eight women and four men with eight alternate jurors, consisting of four men and four women. There were no African-American jurors in the final 12, though there was one African-American among the alternate jurors.

There were 91 prosecution and 50 defense witnesses, although fewer than planned. Melville allowed Jay Leno, defense witness, to continue making jokes about Jackson and the case as long as they were not related to an incident about which he would act as a witness in the trial.

Outside the courtroom, there was an historic 2,200 reporters, more then the O.J Simpson and Scott Peterson trial combined, from all over the globe covering the trial. Because no television cameras were allowed inside the courtroom, E! and British Sky Broadcasting broadcast a re-enactment of the trial. It aired Monday through Friday at 7:30 and 9pm.

Bashir refused to answer any question regarding unpublished footage of his documentary, or anything about how it was prepared and produced. This refusal was based on the California Constitution's journalist shield law and the First Amendment privilege for journalists. Melville decided that the defense could submit a motivated request to Melville to have Bashir return to testify more, against which Bashir could file opposition. Also Melville agreed that before possibly charging Bashir with contempt of court for refusing to answer, Bashir would be heard.

On March 10, 2005, the judge was about to issue an arrest warrant and forfeiture of the bail, when Jackson was an hour late for the trial (see also WikiNews).

The accuser's brother testified that on two occasions, from hiding and over the course of a few seconds, he had seen Jackson have outercourse with the sleeping accuser. This accounted for counts 4 and 5. Details of the sexual act on the second occasion contradict what the accuser's brother told psychologist Katz, according to Katz' testimony before the Grand Jury. He explained this by saying that there were actually three occasions. What made his testimonial weak was that the accuser's brother admitted in court, that he walked in on Jackson performing the alleged molestation on his brother unnoticed, even while tripping the alarm system in the hallway leading to Jackson's bedroom. He was the only witness to the alleged molestation, and that on both occasions the alarm to the bedroom went off and Michael Jackson apparently had not heard it. It was pointed out by the defense, that what the accuser's brother said in court neither matched his words during an interview with the psychologist Stanley Katz nor his testimonial given in police interviews in 2003: Star Arvizo said in an interview with the psychologist Stanley Katz on May 29, 2003 he eye-witnessed how Michael Jackson placed his hand on his brother's crotch, above his clothes. On July 7, 2003 during his first interview with sheriff's investigators, Star's story changed. He claimed during the first alleged incident Jackson placed his left hand under the front of his brother's pajama pants. Star Arvizo tweaked his account for a third time in a police interview on August 13, 2003 when he claimed Jackson had placed his hand inside the front of his brother's boxer short.

The boy's brother also claimed that Jackson and his friend Frank Casio had shown them pornography, both via the Internet and magazines. Allegedly, he showed them photographs of topless women and pulled up a photo of a woman lifting up her shirt and exposing he breasts, while stating "Got milk?". Apparently he also leaned in and whispered to Prince Michael II, who was sleeping nearby, "Prince, you're missing some pussy" while the accuser and the accuser's brother stared at the images on the computer screen. Other accusations include coercing the boys into "cussing," and swearing them to secrecy, insisting that they do not tell anyone "even if they have a gun to your head." The boy admitted that he had lied under oath in an unrelated court case.

However, staff members would give evidence that the boys had been caught in Jackson's bedroom on their own and going through his things. The housekeeper Kiki Fournier testifies that the guest quarters that was assigned to the boys was trashed by them and at one point the accuser's brother pointed a knife at her in Jackson's kitchen.

During the alleged sexual incidents, Jackson wore underpants, and the accuser wore underpants or pajamas, and according to the accuser they were under the covers but according to his brother they were on top of the bed covers. On one brief occasion the accuser and his brother claimed they saw Jackson naked, but both boys described the incident differently. According to the brother, Jackson purposefully exposed himself and his penis was erect, but according to the accuser, Jackson only came up the stairs from the bathroom to the bedroom while unclothed, retrieved something and went downstairs. Despite being prompted by the prosecutor, the boy denied Jackson was in an aroused state, contradicting his brother. Apart from inconsistent details between the two brother's testimonies, the times and dates of when the alleged acts took place were not confirmed by either boys.

After leaving Neverland, the accuser told his school administrator that Jackson had not molested him. During the trial, he claimed that this was a lie as he was teased after Living with Michael Jackson aired and reasoned that ´he didn't want them to think anything really happened.¨´ What really happened, according to the accuser, is as follows: On one occasion, while both were undercovers in bed Jackson manipulated the accuser's genitals for about five minutes, causing the accuser to ejaculate (count 2). The next day Jackson started it again (count 3) and also tried to guide the accuser's hand to Jackson's genitals, but the accuser pulled away (count 6). The accuser said that he was happy at Neverland, and that only after leaving did he realize he didn't want to be there anymore.

Witness George Lopez, who has been a friend of the accuser's family, gave the family money, but the father kept asking for more. It was alleged by the defense that the family tried to extort money from Lopez, by claiming that Lopez stole $300 from the family. This allegation was used to illustrate a pattern of family behavior. However, the prosecution says these problems were caused by the father, before the divorce.

House manager Jesus Salas testified that the accuser's mother was at no time held at Neverland against her will and that she had never complained of her children being taken advantage of at Neverland. The accuser's mother, Janet Arvizo, took the Fifth regarding welfare fraud she has committed. For that reason the defense asked Melville not to allow her as a witness at all, but Melville ruled that she could testify without being questioned about the fraud. The defense would later have the opportunity to present other evidence for the welfare fraud. This is relevant for the credibility of the witness. She admitted that she had lied under oath in an unrelated court case.

In May 2005 the witnesses for the defense testified. Closing arguments of both sides were presented in the beginning of June. Jackson's defense team had to be on 10-minute notice throughout jury deliberations. The jury reached a verdict of not guilty on all counts and all lesser offenses for those counts, announced at 2:13 pm PDT (21:13 UTC), June 13, 2005.

Alleged prior sexual crimes (Evidence Code 1108)

Melville allowed the prosecution to present evidence regarding five men, out of seven requested who, as boys, had allegedly been involved in sexual behavior with Jackson. The prosecution called a total of nine people to testify regarding this, including only one of these five alleged victims: Jason Francia; three of the five, Macaulay Culkin, Wade Robson and Brett Barnes, testified for the defense and all said that Jackson had never molested them.

The prosecution's purpose in making the allegations was to demonstrate a pattern of behavior by Jackson. Bringing in evidence of so-called "prior bad acts" to suggest that a defendant had a propensity to commit certain crimes is only allowed in a few U.S. states, and only for sex crimes; in California this is Evidence Code 1108.

• Jason Francia (born May 30, 1980) is the son of Jackson's former maid Blanca Francia, who moved from El Salvador to the US in 1975. She worked for Jackson in the period 1986–1991 at the Jackson family home in Encino, Los Angeles, at Jackson's Century City, Los Angeles apartment called "The Hideout," and at Neverland. She often brought Jason along to her work. Jason was a friend of Jackson in the period 1987–1991, when he was 7–10 years old. Jason claimed Jackson touched his crotch twice over his shorts, and once touched his testicles from under his shorts, on each of these three occasions for a few minutes during a tickling game. On the first two occasions he claimed to have received $100 each for not telling his mother, Blanca Francia. She testified too. She did not see sexual activity, just an occasion where Jackson and Jason were lying together partly on, partly in a sleeping bag. Blanca Francia received $20,000 for a TV interview, which Jason claimed to have no knowledge of the amount.

• Jordan Chandler, who allegedly was molested by Jackson in 1993 (see 1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson), left the country to avoid testifying according to his uncle Ray Chandler. Former security guard Ralph Chacon says that at Neverland he saw Jackson putting Chandler's penis in his mouth on one occasion, and touching Chandler's crotch with his hand on another occasion. However, Chacon's reliability is disputed, as he had past conflicts with Jackson. Chacon's testimony also contradicted Chandler's affidavit. Chacon claimed having seen Jackson molest Chandler in early 1993, before May 1993 in Monaco, when Chandler alleged in his testimony that Jackson started abusing him. Chandler's mother has also testified and contradicted known facts about the case, claiming that she was the one to alert authorities about the relationship between Jackson and her son in September 1993, although authorities were alerted by Jordan's father in August 1993. Former maid Adrian McManus says she once saw Jackson touch Chandler's crotch over his clothes. The defense discredited her as a witness as she was fired by Jackson, because she stole a drawing Jackson did of Elvis and subsequently sold it and well as stories to the tabloids. Bob Jones, who worked for Jackson from 1987 to 2004, admitted in court that he never saw Michael Jackson acting inappropriately towards a minor. He also ´thinks´ that he wrote an email to his coauthor saying that he saw Michael Jackson lick Jordan Chandler's head once but in court, under oath he stated he never saw such a thing, but that as he was going to write an expose regarding his former employer his material needed some sensationalism.

• Macaulay Culkin was a child actor. Phillip LeMarque stated that he once saw Jackson with his hand resting on the pants of Culkin when the two were playing video games. Adrian McManus said he only saw that once Jackson kissed Culkin on his cheek, and had his hand "kind of by his leg, kind of on his rear end." Culkin had not originally wished to testify but after the allegations made by LeMarque and McManus, he appeared as a defense witness to refute their charges. Culkin denounced the molestation allegations as "absolutely ridiculous" and said that nothing inappropriate had happened, that he had never been improperly touched, touched in a sexual way by Jackson or molested by Jackson. Culkin testified that he slept in Jackson's bed several times between the ages of 10 and 14, sometimes with other boys as well. He said the sleepovers weren't planned and that he and others would just fall asleep when they were tired. Culkin was described as "calm" during an "aggressive" cross-examination.

• Wade Robson confirmed that he had slept in the same bed with Jackson, but he denied that anything inappropriate ever happened, including inappropriate touching. Robson's mother, Joy, admitted in cross-examination that her son went missing for three days with Jackson, causing the police to get involved. But, like the sleepovers, she was confident this was all innocent, and her son confirmed it. She said that she trusted Jackson and considered him to be a member of her family. Joy Robson testified that Jordan Chandler and his mother were often at Neverland when she and Wade were, and she felt that Chandler's mother was a "gold digger" who treated Neverland as if it were her own and wanted to be its "mistress." Robson's sister Chantal testified that she had slept in Jackson's room four times during her childhood with her brother and never witnessed anything inappropriate.

• Brett Barnes slept in the same room as Jackson for a year according to the testimony of Barnes' sister, Karlee. Barnes testified that Jackson did not act inappropriately: "No, I wouldn't stand for it." Barnes' mother Marie testified that nothing ever happened between her son and Jackson.

Charlie Michaels and Charmayne Sternberg were also planned prosecution witnesses, but they did not testify. The witnesses included some of the "Neverland Five" (former security guards Ralph Chacon, Kassim Abdool, and Melanie Bagnall, former office manager Sandi Domz, and former maid Adrian McManus) who lost a lawsuit in 1995 against Jackson. The two boys of whom Melville did not allow evidence are Jimmy Safechuck and Jonathan Spence.

Prosecution witnesses' credibility

There is question not only of the credibility of the main accuser, the mother, but also of the many witnesses called to testify in the trial. Prosecution witness Chris Carter, who had been Jackson's bodyguard from August 2002 – August 2003, was arrested in Las Vegas on February 19, 2005 after police searched his mother's house and found a handgun, and had been accused of robbing a Radio Shack in October 2003, Subway sandwich shop in August 2004, a KB Toy Store in January 2005, and a Jack in the Box restaurant in February 2005.

Another witness, a former maid in Neverland, was convicted of stealing a sketch of Elvis Presley made by Jackson. A housekeeper whose son claims he was molested once sold stories about Jackson to Hard Copy, and a chef was found to be the host of a porn site called Virtual Sin.

Jackson's finances

The prosecution sought to have Jackson's financial records exposed in the trial. They claimed that Jackson was a "spendaholic" who was, from 1999 to 2001, spending $35 million a year while earning $11 million to $12 million a year, and as a result was on the brink of bankruptcy. They argued that this could have been a motive for Jackson to resort to the alleged conspiracy to control the PR damage of the Bashir documentary, and thus control the resulting financial damage. Jackson's defense questioned the valuations of Jackson's estate by prosecution experts, citing that their appraisals were conducted on a "when bought" basis and did not include investments in those assets or an "actual market" value. The judge ruled that the prosecution could subpoena the financial records, but that they would only be opened in the trial after he heard testimony that they are relevant. Despite these allegations, according to Forbes, Jackson was still making as much as $75 million a year from his publishing partnership with Sony.

Allegations of media bias against Jackson

MTV has stated that Jackson had to endure "media attacks" throughout his trial. Jane Velez-Mitchell's journalistic integrity was criticized by American Chronicle several years after the trial, who felt she had an anti-Jackson bias.

Maureen Orth, writing for Vanity Fair, produced a series of articles between 1993 and 2005, all attacking Michael Jackson and culminating in a vituperative interpretation of events at the trial of 2005. Her articles proved to be remarkably influential, although they openly displayed a strong bias, consisted primarily of elaborate and carefully chosen hearsay presented confidently as fact and have often been described by other journalists as being largely based on opinion rather than on actually proven facts. After Michael Jackson's death, Ms. Orth defended her position in Vanity Fair http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/06/michael-jackson-is-gone-but-the-sad-facts-remain.html, on MSNBC's Morning Joe and on NBC's The Today Show.

Diana Dimond, chief executive investigative editor and on-air correspondent and anchor for Court TV, published a book in November 2005 called 'Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case' which also depended heavily on hearsay and innuendo. Dimond continues with negative accounts of Michael Jackson's interment and the Jackson family published in The Daily Beast.

Michael Jackson's former PR Manager, Bob Jones, published a revenge book, 'Michael Jackson: The Man Behind the Mask' shortly after he was fired.

A report about the Michael Jackson trial provides the book "The Michael Jackson Conspiracy" by Aphrodite Jones. The book is based on actual court protocols and reveals the many contradictions and lies in which the Arvizo's were caught during the trial. It further reveals that the media tried to buy prison access rights to Michael's cell before the trial even began. The reporter, Aphrodite Jones, compares the trial and the media presentation to a "legal equivalent of a lynching" of Jackson.

Court dates

2005:

• January 31 – Jury selection begins.
• February 24 – Jurors and alternates seated.
• February 28, March 1 – Opening statements begin.
• March 1 – Prosecution testimony begins.
• May 4 – Prosecution rests.
• May 5 – Defense testimony begins.
• May 25 – Defense rests/prosecution rebuttal begins.
• May 27 – Prosecution rebuttal ends/defense offers no rebuttal.
• June 1 – Jury gets instructions.
• June 2, June 3 – Closing arguments.
• June 13 – Verdict delivered.

As of April 15, 2005, all weekdays from February 28, 2005 were court days, except:

• March 31– César Chávez Day (holiday)
• April 6 – funeral of Johnnie Cochran
• May 30 – Memorial Day

A few court days were without jury and without Jackson. On these days motions were discussed and ruled about. These were on March 11 and 18, and the first part of March 28.

There were also several days in which Michael Jackson was unable to attend. These are:

• February 15 – Questioning of potential jurors was postponed until February 22, after Michael Jackson was hospitalized with flu like symptoms.
• March 21 – Court was delayed for 45 minutes, after Michael Jackson showed up late again complaining of back trouble. After meeting with attorneys and the doctor, Melville resumed the court into session without threatening to revoke Michael Jackson's bail.

Verdict

At approximately 2:25pm PDT (21:25 UTC) on June 13, 2005 the jury of the Superior Court of the State of California, held in and for the County of Santa Barbara, determined that Michael Jackson was not guilty on any of the charges he had been accused with. The not guilty verdicts on all ten charges, including four lesser substitute charges, were read aloud by court clerk Lorna Frye. Fans cried from happiness outside of the courthouse as the verdicts were announced (one woman even went as far as setting free doves for each time a "not guilty" verdict was announced). The investigation and trial lasted for 574 days.

See also

• Pedophilia
• Child abuse
• Media circus

Books

• Jones, Aphrodite (2007). Michael Jackson Conspiracy. iUniverse. ISBN 9780979549809.

External links

• "Jackson Not Guilty", article by CNN reporting the verdict on June 13, 2005.
• Mary Fischer GQ Article: "Was Michael Jackson framed?"
• Testimony of 12 y. o. J. Chandler (The Smoking Gun Magazine)
• E! Online: The Michael Jackson File – From Superstar to Suspect, Complete Coverage of Trouble in Neverland
• Court TV Special Report: Michael Jackson Accused
• Michael Jackson Trial Watch

News

• Michael Jackson Trial Watch
• E! Online: The Michael Jackson File – From Superstar to Suspect, Complete Coverage of Trouble in Neverland
• News Briefs: Fans rejoice Michael Jackson acquittal

Police and courts

• Opening statements of the trial, by prosecution and defense, including the indictment: [1] [2] [3] [4] (pdf)
  • applicable sections of California Penal Code:
    • count 1, overt acts 1–28: 182(a)(1) – conspiracy, involving unlawful controlling, withholding, concealing, enticing, and threatening the accuser, his mother, his sister, and his brother, to commit:
      • 236 – false imprisonment
      • 278 – child abduction
      • 518 – extortion
    • count 2–6: 288(a) – lewd act upon a child: four times plus one attempt (664): two times (counts 2 and 3) reported by the accuser, two times (counts 4 and 5) witnessed by his brother, while the accuser slept, and an attempt to have the accuser perform a non-penetrative sexual act on Jackson (count 6). 288(a) should not be confused with 288a.
      • counts 7–10: 222 – administering alcohol to enable and assist oneself to do this (four times); in June 2005 Melville ruled that alternatively the jury can consider the lesser charge of just supplying alcohol to the accuser.
• Evidence Code 1108 – allowing in a sexual offense trial, evidence that the defendant has committed another sexual offense, as evidence of a person's character or a trait of his or her character
• Santa Barbara Sheriff Press Releases on the case
• Felony complaint, Dec 2003
• Tom Sneddon vendetta theory: Archive of a site investigating evidence against Santa Barbara DA T. Sneddon, alleging malicious prosecution
• DCFS memo

Interviews

• michaeljackson.ru
• mjshouse.com
• CBS News
• USA Today: Neverland