The Michael Jackson Trial
By Burton S. Katz/Retired L.A. Superior Court Judge
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon wasted no time in getting to the heart and soul of the prosecution case. No beating around the bush. No softening up the jury. No placating anyone’s emotions. Just the hard, unembellished claims of a then-12-year-old witness.
The now-14-year old-younger brother of the alleged victim in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial said he saw Jackson masturbating while he placed his hands inside his brother’s pants as the then-13-year-old alleged victim lay sleeping on two occasions. He said he observed this while standing on the stairs leading to Jackson’s bedroom. The younger brother, then 12-years of age, said he also saw Jackson appear naked as he and his brother watched a movie. The boy said he was “grossed out” when Jackson appeared naked, reluctantly admitting to the probing District Attorney Thomas Sneddon that Jackson appeared to be aroused. Jackson also was said to have exposed the boys to pornography and the making of random obscene phone calls. On one occasion, Jackson even was alleged to have simulated sex with a mannequin in their presence while laughing. The witness also said that he did not know what to do when he allegedly observed his brother being molested; it wasn’t until months later that he finally divulged this information to a therapist.
In the interim time between the alleged molestation and the revelation of these events to a therapist, the family, including this witness and the alleged victim, stated in a video taped interview with a Jackson investigator that Jackson was “everything a loving father could be” to her three children. The family extolled the virtues of Michael Jackson, making no mention of any alleged predatory sexual behavior.
The brother also accused Jackson of giving these minors alcohol. This latter allegation has caused a stir of its own because the alleged victim has only one kidney and is a cancer survivor. Thus, the die is cast and the challenge has been issued. The defense team must unsparingly probe the perceptions and motivations of the family witnesses.
Their task is to do it without appearing to “harass and badger” the child witnesses. That is a tall mandate. Any sign of arrogance or indifference to the children, their discomfort in having to testify or the seriousness of the alleged charges will alienate the jury and undermine their defense.
The brother’s testimony is critical to the survival of the district attorney’s case as the alleged victim himself was asleep when the purported molestation occurred. He is the only eyewitness to these damning events. Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau is a gifted cross examiner. The cross examination of the brother and the alleged victim will set the stage for the defense claim that these allegations are motivated by money and greed; that it is Jackson who has been used and abused by the family. Given the odd and often bizarre behavior of Michael Jackson, behavior that has earned him the epithet “Jacko,” the defense team has their work cut out for them.
Mesereau must probe deeply, testing the recollection of then-12- and 13-year-old witnesses. Now, two years later, he must suggest misperceptions, fantasies, dreams and nightmares. He must press all of the buttons that suggest improper influences. Pressure from the mother, pressure from the father, pressure from the district attorney. He must convince the jury that these child witnesses, while “victims of the system,” are not true victims of a crime committed by Jackson. He must charge the jury with the notion that the mother and father used their children to extort money against a vulnerable and eccentric oddball super star. He must try to convince the jury that Thomas Sneddon is a biased and overbearing district attorney who has a personal hatred and vendetta for Jackson.
One thing is clear; the district attorney has struck first. He has struck hard and powerful blows. The testimony is damning, the children are, after all, children. We love our children and will go to great lengths to protect them from predators. Only time will tell whether there is another credible story to weigh and consider.