Defense Allowed To Question Legal History

Saturday, February 26, 2005

On Friday, Judge Rodney Melville granted the Defence permission to enter evidence concerning the legal history of the Accuser's family, according to the Associated Press.

Lead Defence attorney Tom Mesereau described to the Judge why it's necessary for the evidence to be allowed, as the Mother of the Accuser is a vital witness and her credibility should be brought into question if she is a "professional plaintiff" and a schemer that has a "habit, practice, pattern and M.O.".

Melville agreed to allow the jurors to hear evidence, but barred the Defence from referring to the Accuser as a "shoplifter". The main case of the past the Defence will be questioning will be a civil suit the family brought against store chain JC Penney in 2001, in which they won a settlement of $150,000.

The Mother said during the JC Penney case her husband never beat her, Mesereau explained, however she accused her husband of beating her and the family for years during their divorce and even claimed that the Father sexually abused their daughter. The Father as well as his attorney H. Russell Halpern has vehemently denied these claims.

The credibility of the Mother will be further brought into question, as Mesereau claimed she had her son ask celebrities such as Jay Leno for money (because of his cancer) and used some of the money on cosmetic surgery for herself. "She got a breast enhancement and a tummy tuck and then told (Michael Jackson) and all these people that she was destitute," he said. "In a nutshell, it all started with, 'Please help us. We're destitute',".

The Prosecution argued against the Defence motion, stating, "The question is whether a man who admits to sleeping with children was sleeping with this child, and what he did with this child. That's what this case is about," Ronald Zonen said. The Judge still ruled in favour of the Defence.

However, Melville did not allow the Defence to discuss alleged extramarital affairs by the Mother. The Defence had wanted to show that she was in contact with a Los Angeles policeman as well as an ex-army officer at the time she alleges her family were held captive, and that she could have contacted either of them.

In another motion, Prosecutors wanted to show jurors the Martin Bashir documentary Living with Michael Jackson in its entirety during Monday's opening statements. The Defence said it would only be fair to then show jurors the rebuttal documentary, Michael Jackson, Take 2: The Footage You Were Never Meant To See, which was hosted by Maury Povich, also in its entirety.

The Judge told both sides they will not be able to show the full documentaries, but only segments, as the opening statements should only last a few hours. "If you can't, don't use it," he said, according to the news-press, as well as saying there is only so much one juror can take.

Michael Jackson attended Friday's hearing, although he was not scheduled to, and did not have to attend. He did leave early however, with the Judge's permission, during an early morning break.

Source - MJNI.COM