Mike's In trouble

[Gua]

Jackson Apparently Ill--Again

23 minutes ago

By Joal Ryan



The pop star had to briefly excuse himself from his molestation trial Monday morning after, as pool reporters described it, breaking down into tears and appearing to be on the verge of vomiting.


Jackson, 46, arrived at the Santa Maria, California, courthouse about a minute before his case's scheduled 8:30 a.m. PT start time. From there, it took him nearly 10 minutes to make it inside the courtroom, moving even slower than the day he showed up in pajama bottoms and complaining of a bad back.


Though clothed in his usual regalia this time out, Jackson looked bedraggled, leaned heavily on two assistants (a bodyguard and brother Jackie Jackson), and was having what could charitably be described as a bad hair day.


Almost as soon as Jackson arrived in the courtroom, he left, heading (slowly) for the bathroom, where he remained for several minutes. A man in scrubs, identified as Jackson's physician was also on hand.


Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville huddled in chambers with the prosecution and defense teams after Jackson's meltdown, but made no mention in court of the display.




Testimony resumed at about 9:15 a.m., with Jackson present in court.


This is the third time during his trial that Jackson has either arrived late or not at all.


On Mar. 10, Melville threatened to arrest the AWOL singer if he didn't find his seat at the defense table--pronto. Heeding the judge's warning, Jackson sped from the hospital where he was seeking back treatment. He just beat the judge's deadline, and suffered no penalty, other than the indignity of being photographed in his pajamas and slippers.


Back in February, during jury selection, the courtroom went dark for a few days while Jackson was waylaid by the flu.


Jackson is accused of molesting a boy, then 13, plying him with alcohol, and conspiring to hold him and his family against their will. He has pleaded innocent to all charges.


Jackson's latest spell comes as the most emotional part of his trial arguably is about to wrap. The prosecution expects to conclude its presentation on the molestation charges this week.

and the beat goes on.......

[MissTara]

Now you know if he is found not guilty, a few years from now, another molestation case will be brought up. IMO, leave the man alone. Geez

[Weak4Weeks]

MissTara said:

Now you know if he is found not guilty, a few years from now, another molestation case will be brought up. IMO, leave the man alone. Geez

I totally agree...I hope that he is found innocent....He is in my eyes until proven guilty. Some people already have it in their minds that he is because it has happened before...but people will do anything for money or fame you know? Don't judge him unless you have incontrovertible proof is my opinion and since I don't I can't put him in heaven or hell you know?

[brunneng]

Weak4Weeks said:

I totally agree...I hope that he is found innocent....He is in my eyes until proven guilty. Some people already have it in their minds that he is because it has happened before...but people will do anything for money or fame you know? Don't judge him unless you have incontrovertible proof is my opinion and since I don't I can't put him in heaven or hell you know?

Jacko just needs to learn to hang around with older people!


;D



...my baby, my baby...

[tabby]

We watched "Michael Jackson, THE ONE" again last night. There's a scene from LIVE AID in 1985 where he is surounded by little boys ... everyone seemed to be happy. I don't think that anyone who is a pedophile would portray his "weakness" that openly. Usually, such people try to hide their secrets I don't know. There sems to be some kind of power struggle going on between the authorities and MJ, in my opinion.

At this point of the trial, I don't believe he is guilty. That boy and his family seem to be liars. And I find it disgusting that someone who is sick is forced to appear in court by what appears to be an authoritarian judge.

I don't wish the judge bad, but maybe if he knew how bad a back can hurt -- and for how long -- he would not be more concerned about his court than about a person who is in pain. I find this kind of behavior appalling.

[ken-du]

BrunnenG said:

Jacko just needs to learn to hang around with older people!

BrunnenG, i agree with you.
Guilty or not i cant say but one thing is for sure. Michael Jackson needs to stop having sleep over's with little boys. It's not normal or socially acceptable in any culture. A man sleeps with women or another man if thats his thing but not other peoples 9 and 10 year old sons.

[Gua]

March 23, 2005, 10:53AM

Jackson arrives early for court
By TIM MOLLOY
Associated Press


SANTA MARIA, Calif. — Michael Jackson got to court today with plenty of time to spare before the resumption of testimony in his child molestation trial.

Jackson, who has been late previously while seeking treatment for a back problem, arrived about 20 minutes early and was accompanied by his parents and attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr.

The pop star acknowledged a "We love you Michael" shout from a fan by turning and waving. He walked slowly into the courthouse but did not lean on others as he has in the past.

On Tuesday, a comedian who helped the family of Jackson's accuser by giving them $20,000 testified that she believed the boy's mother suffered from a "hostage syndrome" that made her feel trapped.

Louise Palanker told jurors that she believed the woman had felt like a hostage since age 16 when she married a man who allegedly abused her.

Palanker said she tried to get in touch with the mother after seeing the TV documentary "Living With Michael Jackson" in which Jackson and his accuser held hands, and Jackson acknowledged letting children sleep in his bed.

The prosecution called Palanker to testify about the call and to rebut defense suggestions that the family tried to dupe celebrities, including Palanker, George Lopez and Jay Leno, into giving them money.

On the witness stand Tuesday, Palanker said soon after she left a message with the boy's grandparents, the mother called her and sounded frightened.

"She was extremely agitated and she was almost whispering. ... This was fear-based agitation," Palanker said.

The mother told her not to call her back at the same number, the witness said. Palanker quoted the mother as saying: "Don't call me back here. They're listening to everything I say. These people are evil."

"I said, 'Are the children in school?' She said, 'No.' That's when she started crying," Palanker said.

Palanker did not say where the mother was at the time of the call. The comedian said she called her attorney afterward because "I felt that they were being held against their will." She did not call police.

She also testified she once told investigators the mother had "hostage syndrome."

Prosecutors claim that Jackson conspired to hold the family captive after the documentary aired on Feb. 6, 2003, to get them to make a rebuttal video praising Jackson.

Jackson, who is accused of molesting the boy in February or March 2003, arrived to court on time Tuesday, smiling but moving slowly as he did Monday when he was late again after another visit to a hospital. The pop star has complained of back pain.

Palanker told jurors how the accuser's family, who claimed to be poverty-stricken, joined classes in 1999 at the Laugh Factory comedy club in Hollywood and received help from comics including George Lopez and Chris Tucker.

Palanker testified that it was primarily the father, who is now estranged from his family, who made most of the requests for money. She said the boy and his mother were good people.

"He has been honest in the face of others not wanting him to be," she said.

Palanker said she once gave the family $10,000 so they could take time off work and cover personal expenses while the boy was being treated for cancer in 2000.

"I was in a position where I could help this family and I didn't want someone to ever be alone in a hospital," she said.

But within two weeks of the first gift, she said, the father asked her for another $10,000 to fix up a germ-free room for the boy when he came home. She obliged and later visited the room, where she found the family had bought a large-screen TV and DVD for the boy, expenditures she considered to be poor money management.

She said the contractor sent to fix up the room was never paid, and eventually decided to consider his work a gift to the boy.

Palanker said she and Jamie Masada, owner of the Laugh Factory, organized two benefits for the family at the father's urging but by the time of the second benefit Lopez refused to perform because the father and boy had accused Lopez and his wife of stealing $300 from the boy's wallet.

"They were irate," Palanker said of the Lopezes. "They thought (the father) was lying."

The boy's mother filed for divorce in 2001, and the father is barred from seeing his children. The father has denied allegations of abuse through his attorney, and pleaded no contest to child cruelty and spousal abuse after the boy's mother filed for divorce in 2001.

Mesereau questioned Palanker about the family's interest in meeting celebrities.

"Did you say at any time that they were trying to latch on to celebrities to get out of their situation?" Mesereau asked.

"Latch on to anyone that could help them," said Palanker.

She said the family "liked to make phone calls" to celebrities, including Leno, who contacted Palanker and asked her to tell the family to stop calling him.

[Gua]

Young Man Faces Grilling Over Jackson Testimony

Tue Apr 5,12:41 AM ET

By Dan Whitcomb and Alexandria Sage

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (Reuters) - A 24-year-old man who told jurors Michael Jackson molested him three times when he was a child may face tough cross-examination on Tuesday as the pop star's lawyers try to limit any damage from his testimony.



Lead defense attorney Tom Mesereau, who began cross-examining the man on Monday, will likely focus on a $2 million legal settlement he and his mother accepted from Jackson in the mid-1990s and his conflicting statements to police.

The man, whose mother worked as a maid for Jackson until the early 1990s, told jurors Jackson had groped him on three occasions at the entertainer's Los Angeles apartment and his Neverland Valley Ranch. He said the first incident was when he was 7 years old and the last when he was 10.

Faltering as he recounted how Jackson groped his genitals after a tickling match, the witness broke down in tears and told the hushed courtroom: "This is so much harder than I thought."

After the first two incidents, he said, Jackson gave him $100 with an admonition not to tell his mother.

Mesereau reminded the witness that he had denied to police that Jackson had abused him, often referring to statements the boy made when he was 13.

The man said he did not remember telling police, "He never rubbed me there -- it was just a tickling." But he said he had been too embarrassed to admit he had been abused.

The young man is the first of nine witnesses that prosecutors will call to try to convince jurors that Jackson has a history of inappropriate behavior toward adolescent boys, including "Home Alone" star Macaulay Culkin. The actor, who has repeatedly denied ever being molested by Jackson, is not expected to testify.

In the current case, Jackson is charged with molesting a 13-year-old boy at his ranch, plying him with alcohol in order to abuse him and conspiring to commit false imprisonment, child abduction and extortion.

Jackson, who has pleaded not guilty, faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted.

Mike's problem's continue to grow.....I don't think that the jury can be dissuaded to overlook his past indiscretions