Posted by Opening statements begin today (Feb 28 2005) in the Michael Jackson so-called “case”. FEB 28 2005 (7:51 PM EST) – The defense, who will continue their opening statements tomorrow, began to completely take a part the prosecution’s allegation against Jackson today. There were more than a few observers who agreed that the prosecution got off to a very rocky start; a start made to look all the more disastrous after Jackson’s attorney, Tom Mesereau, started to lay out his case against the family. CNN analyst Jeff Toobin didn’t mince words with his assessment of the statements up to this point. He says the prosecution gave one of the “worst opening statements I’ve ever heard by a prosecutor and one of the best opening statements I’ve ever heard by a defense lawyer.” Toobin expresses an opinion that a number of media courtroom observers are admitting, however begrudgingly, about Sneddon’s “disjointed” and “confusing” opening statements. The usually wishy-washy Toobin bluntly said of Sneddon’s opening statements:
“Well, it was disorganized. It was hard to follow. It was boring. And it didn’t really address many of the key issues in the case that were raised immediately and very effectively by Tom Mesereau, the defense attorney.”
You can see Toobin’s critique here and/or read the transcript: http://forums.mjeol.com/showthread.php?t=4788
FEB 28 2005 (4:52 PM EST) – The defense is ripping into the past felonious history of this family. Stunning information revealed in court by Tom Mesereau shows that the family has tried to get money out of a number of people before. They once accused comedian George Lopez of stealing money out of the boy’s wallet after he refused to give them money. They took $20,000 from an actress under false pretenses. That actress found out that her money was spent on a big screen TV instead of a new room for the accuser in which he was suppose to recuperate from cancer. They tried to get money from Jim Carey, Adam Sandler, and Jay Leno. Leno even talked to the Santa Barbara sheriff’s department and told them that this family was looking for an easy “mark”. And the defense says finally they found their mark: Michael Jackson. The following are notes taken from Diane Dimond’s report (I know, but she’s the only one doing them at this moment):
:camera [url=http://site.mjeol.com/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?cid=2&lid=343]Court TV: Defense Argument Begin Feb 28 2005[/url] Version: .wmv Submitted Date: 2005/2/28 Edit This DownloadDescription: Air date: Feb 28 2005 Dimond reports about the first approx. 20 minutes of the defense’s opening statements -says Mesereau (Mez) opened very powerfully after a 3 hour statement by Sneddon -says Mez called Sneddon’s statement is a contract between the attorney and the jurors and ‘therefore I make a contract with you. I will say things to you, I will promise things to you and I will deliver.’ -says accusing family contacted Jay Leno trying to get money out of him DIMOND: Jay Leno told the Santa Barbara County sheriff’s department that something didn’t seem right. He heard the mother in the background urging the boy on and Leno decided ‘they were just looking for a mark’. George Lopez, the comedian, Mesereau said, was also asked for money by the mother and the boy and when he refused, they then accused him of stealing money from the boy’s wallet. There was another objection but he just kept talking. He talked about the young actress who met the family and almost immediately upon meeting them, they soon asked her [if they could] move into her home. She said no. There was a woman named Loiuse Polanker (sp?) who Tom Mesereau says gave this family, after hearing their tale of woe about the young son with cancer, $20,000 in two $10,000 checks to rebuild the room so when the boy came home from the hospital, he would have a nice room to recuperate in. But she went to see the room at one point, according to Mesereau, and found out the builder had been stiffed, and they used all that money for a big screen TV and other electronic equipment for the boy. Mike Tyson, Jim Carey, Adam Sandler, he said, were all approached for money from this family, and then he said finally the best known celebrity ever, Michael Jackson, became the mark.
FEB 28 2005 (3:29 PM EST) – [b]sunnyday81[/b] at MJJF
UPDATE: Referring to the accuser’s mother, Sneddon said that the woman hired a lawyer in the wake of the Bashir broadcast not because she was upset with Jackson, but because Bashir had not obtained releases to include her children in his documentary. Sneddon said that the woman has never considered filing a lawsuit against the performer. As for the accuser himself, Sneddon noted that the child will describe with “vivid particularity” how Jackson sexually assaulted him.
Well we know that Sneddon may be lying here b/c sources close to the family told the Santa Barbara News Press that Sneddon and the family’s attorney made a deal that they wouldn’t file a lawsuit until after the criminal proceedings were over. That January 29 2004 article titled “Sneddon reportedly asked boy’s family not to file civil suit during criminal case” included the following bombshell:
As he launched his investigation against Michael Jackson, District Attorney Tom Sneddon reportedly sought assurance that the family of the boy accusing the entertainer of child molestation would not make a multimillion-dollar deal like another young accuser’s family did a decade ago. A source close to the boy’s family in the current case told the News-Press on Wednesday that Mr. Sneddon asked the attorney representing the family to “solemnly swear” not to file a lawsuit against Mr. Jackson during the criminal investigation and prosecution of the singer. (see Sneddon reportedly asked boy’s family not to file civil suit during criminal case)
Also Mike Taibbi broke the story about what Stan Katz told the sheriff’s department. In the Katz notes, he tells them that they came to him in preparation for a lawsuit Feldman, the family’s attorney at the time, was preparing to file. These are points sure to be brought up by the defense. Specifically talking about this accusing family, Katz told sheriffs:
Mr. Feldman actually referred these kids to me because they had come to him in this lawsuit Feldmans going to file.
Katz even told the family told this accuser:
“Look, if you go ahead with this civil lawsuit, your family will get money if they win ”
Check the following past news for information about this subject:
- Civil Suit Cover-up?Bullet #109
- Abrams Report: Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Dept Investigation
- Dimond Misleading the Public, Katz not first to hear allgations?Bullet #113
Ridiculous! Stay tuned.
FEB 28 2005 (3:00 PM EST) – The prosecution’s opening statements really have not revealed anything that they or their sympathizers haven’t already leaked to the media before now. The Court TV backed website tsg.com provided updates on the prosecution’s currently unproven allegations. One thing that did stand out like a sore thumb to a great number of observers is the fact that Tom Sneddon doesn’t seem to know the names of Jackson’s children. According to one update from tsg.com:
The singer even directed a lurid comment at his three year old son, who was on the bed, apparently sleeping. “Paris,” he said to the boy, “you’re missing a lot of XXXXXX”.
The problem with this is that Jackson doesn’t have a SON named “Paris”. His son’s name is Prince. So did he get this false information from the accusing family? Or are prosecutors just that lazy and blind that they didn’t even bother to question the validity of the allegation they were fed by this family? The judge ruled before opening statements that they can call the accusing family by name. The accuser, 15 year old Gavin Arvizo and his younger brother, Star Arvizo, will both have to testify in open court. The defense is yet to present their opening statements. Stay tuned to the main discussion topic for up-to-the-minute information, of stay tuned to this page for periodic updates.