Posted by Sister’s Testimony being Dismantled by Defense MARCH 4 2005 (4:15 PM) — According to reports, the sister’s testimony from yesterday is being dismantled by the defense. Observers say that Tom Mesereau, who is dong the cross examination, is being “gentle but firm”. He has also gotten the girl to make some incredibly questionable statements under oath that simply don’t add up. Both Fox News correspondent Adam Howsley (sp?) and Fox News legal analyst Bob Massi report that the defense is in fact “dismantling” the sister’s testimony from yesterday. Today the prosecution showed the apparently unedited video of the family speaking wonderfully about Jackson. They claim the video was made under duress and the family was forced to read from a script. Almost every observer is reporting that the family definitely does not appear to be coerced. They’ve said the family appeared to be relaxed, joking and laughing. Howsley is asserting that some believe the defense is contending that the sister may have been coached in her testimony by the prosecution, and that she even called the prosecution last night and asked to see the DVD of that interview to “refresh her memory”. Why she would need her memory refreshed is a mystery as of now. Howsley reports that the sister is claiming, under oath, that the family has never talked about this “case”. That’s what she said under oath; that they have never spoken about this “case”. Howsley says court observers don’t think jurors will buy that. KFI correspondent Laura Ingle (sp?) also reported on Fox that the video of the family praising Jackson wasn’t what the prosecution had led them to believe. Bob Massi says that if you watch the video of the family praising Jackson, they’re relaxed and joking around. He says that if they were coerced, they wouldn’t have been acting like they were acting in the video. Massi also says that Mesereau is being gentle but firm in his cross-examination. He reports that the defense attorney has even gotten the girl to claim, under oath, that the mother wasn’t involved in raising any money for the accuser’s non-existent medical bills. They’re actually blaming it all on the father. We know that many, many people have confirmed that it was the mother who solicited them for money for those medical bills that didn’t exist; Fritz Coleman, the editor of the Mid Valley News, those two LAPD officers who raised some $200 for the mother for Dec 2001 Christmas and George Lopez just to name a few. But the question is why would the father be soliciting donations for medical bills when it is through his job, and his Teamster 100% health coverage, that the accuser’s bills were completely paid? Blaming the father also wouldn’t explain why, after their divorce in or around Oct 2001, the mother was still out claiming they were destitute and didn’t have any money. And money was given to her and the family after the father was long out of the picture. The father is sure to have a very, very different story to tell. Michael Jackson’s on trial for this? Jeez. Stay tuned for all the updates.
MARCH 4 2005 (2:05 PM) — Little note: According to MSNBC, the cross-examination of the sister has begun.
Video of Family Supporting Jackson Shown Today MARCH 4 2005 (1:45 PM) — The morning session continued with the prosecution showing the jurors the full rebuttal footage of the family shot Feb 19-20 2003 where they are talking about what a wonderful person Michael Jackson is. This is the video that prosecutors alleged they were forced to make and the reason why they were allegedly “abducted”/”kidnapped”/”held hostage”. But the big question is why were they forced to make this video when 1.) no abused is even alleged to have occurred at that time and 2.) the footage was never even shown the public to clear Jackson’s name. The prosecution seems to be trying to keep the accuser’s sister, Davellin Arvizo, on the stand as much as possible, probably to limit the defense’s time for cross-examination before the weekend. MSNBC’s Mike Taibbi says the defense is sure to seize on the inconsistencies in the sister’s testimony in comparison to what was said on that video by the family. And the video is more than just a few sentences. They go on and on about want a wonderful person Jackson is and how it was the accuser who asked to call him daddy. It was also the accuser who asked to stay in his personal living quarters (bedroom). And the accuser apparently says on the tape that he asked Jackson if he could stay in the bedroom and Jackson told that that if it was OK with his parents he could. No word yet if the video is over or if Mesereau will get a chance to fully cross-examine the accuser’s sister today.
Day 5 of the Michael Jackson trial continues today with more testimony from the accuser’s sister, Davellin Arvizo. She is set to be cross-examined today….that is, if the prosecution doesn’t drone on and on on direct examination.
