Defense Arguments Absent from Hearing Coverage?– Bullet #169

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Defense Arguments Absent from Hearing Coverage? – MJEOL Bullet #169 Some observers have noticed a lack of information as to what the defense presented in court today. Some, like us, have been waiting to hear the defense’s arguments to some of the things prosecutors have been saying about this allegedly vast “conspiracy” to kidnap/abduct/imprison the accuser’s family by Jackson and his associates. What is striking is that in most of the early articles about what happened in court today, only 1-3 sentences are devoted to what Jackson’s attorneys said in court, even though it was the defense who caused these witnesses to take the stand in the first place.

The majority of these earlier articles–thus far, from the AP, the LA Times and the like—ran with headlines such as “Prosecutors Say Jackson Imprisoned Family” (LA Times); “Jackson built Neverland ranch to entice children: lawyers” (AFP); and “Michael Jackson Accused of Imprisoning Boy” (AFP).

But some information is leaking out through the screaming headlines. Sources inside the courtroom have said that the defense lawyers made the prosecution look like they were involved in misconduct and/or had something to hide. Defense lawyers presented evidence in court showing that police and prosecutors knew that private investigator (PI) Brad Miller, was in fact working for Jackson’s first attorney, Mark Geragos. The defense showed letters in court—letters prosecutors had in their possession—showing the family’s first attorney, Bill Dickerman, had written to Mark Geragos where he references Brad Miller. What’s more, Jackson’s lawyers say Miller’s own attorney showed up at the office while police were raiding it, and informed the deputies that Miller does in fact work FOR GERAGOS and not Jackson. Yet, they still continued ransacking the office and removing information. If there’s evidence that prosecutors knew or should have known Miller was a defense team member, the search they did of his office is illegal and a violation of attorney-client privilege even if the information is exonerating towards Jackson. If any of this information was presented to the grand jury, it is grounds to have the indictment tossed out. Why is this info not being talking about…yet? What’s more, there were probably many bombs defense attorneys dropped in court. After all, it was the defense who subpoenaed the witnesses. One statement from Jackson’s attorney, Tom Mesereau, did manage to get through by way of the AP though:

Mesereau ridiculed the assumption that the trips constituted false imprisonment, saying, “The idea that they were imprisoned and forced to fly on private jets to Florida, to socialize with celebrities such as Chris Tucker, is absurd on its face. It would be laughed out of court by a jury.” (see article)

Prosecutors say Jackson “panicked” after the Bashir documentary aired because he worried about the collapse of his “empire.” Prosecutors are also claiming that Jackson forced the boy to do a rebuttal video absolving him of any molestation. Nowhere do they say, however, why Jackson would “panic”, call in a PR firm, and THEN start to molest the accuser. Some sources say the prosecution’s theory simply doesn’t make sense. “They’re saying Michael Jackson got the family involved [in a conspiracy] and only thereafter does he begin the molestation? I find that unbelievable,” one sources says. Another source brings up a valid point: prosecutors are changing their story once again to claim that the alleged “abduction/kidnapping” happened BEFORE the abuse. That means the family WAS NOT allegedly “kidnapped” BECAUSE they wanted to hide “abuse”, but BECAUSE of the documentary and what that would do to his career………… Say what? It doesn’t make any sense on a number of levels. Jackson’s attorneys were preparing to fight against Bashir’s fraud in the British courts. They even succeeded in getting Bashir’s footage sealed by the court in Britain. Jackson released a statement to the press after the “mockumentary” was aired in the UK, and he complained to the British Standards Commission. On another level, the footage that Jackson apparently forced the accuser to shoot—absolving him of any abuse—wasn’t even shown in Jackson’s rebuttal video, which aired on the Fox network in February 2003. And yet on another level, they’re claiming Jackson “panicked” and kidnapped the family because of the damage the documentary would do to his image. That makes no sense because Jackson—even after all of this–has shown absolutely NO signs of changing his views on allowing a child to sleep in one’s bed while the adult sleeps on the floor. He did an interview with 60 Minutes confirming his opinions. So why would he “abduct/kidnap/imprison” them BECAUSE of fear of this getting out, then turn around and vehemently defend and confirm his opinions on the subject?? It seems the prosecution is flailing for a theory here. Remember, the changing timeline of abuse now says that Jackson began the alleged “molestation” towards the end of February 2003, after the LA Child Services investigation began. With the world essentially on his ass about his entire lifestyle, THEN prosecutors are alleging the “abuse” started. This is after Jackson’s has already known the family and this accuser for 2 years. But where is this information addressing these rather obvious holes in the ‘Vito Corleone’ theory being put forth by prosecutors? All the media has done so far is to run around like their hair is on fire, talking about what prosecutors are alleging, without asking the question as to whether or not any of what they are reporting makes sense. This sort of mysterious black-out has happened before. During the prosecution’s ridiculous arguments of why an unconstitutional $3M bail should remain, we were “treated” to a first-hand recounting of prosecution theories—absent any case law or evidence to back-up their claims that Jackson will flee the country. When we finally learned of the extensive argument from the defense, it made the prosecution’s theories seem like they were hatched in the offices of a tabloid; totally lacking foundation. The Court of Appeals has since ruled that Melville must show why Jackson’s bail hasn’t been reduced. If the smiles on Jackson’s attorneys’ faces, as they broke for lunch, are any indication, there were major things going on in court today that set prosecutors in a not-so-favorable light. Now all we have to do is get the damn information from the media. Stay tuned. -MJEOL

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