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SANTA MARIA, United States (AFP) - The final jury was selected in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial, leaving the pop superstar's fate in the hands of four men and eight women.
The 12-member panel ranged in age from a 20-year-old man to a 79-year-old widow.
There were no African Americans. The jury was described as being formed by eight non-Hispanic whites, three Hispanics and one Asian.
The selection process, which had twice been disrupted by week-long suspensions, wrapped up far quicker than expected, with Judge Rodney Melville clearly keen to see the case make some headway.
Once the jury was sworn in, attorneys moved on to selecting the eight alternate jurors who will act as replacements if required.
With the jury seated, the focus will switch to dozens of pending motions that the judge will have to deal with before the two sides can begin the trial proper with opening arguments and witness testimony.
Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a then 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Ranch, near here, in February and March of 2003. He has denied the charges.
With a lengthy and star-studded witness list that includes the likes of Smokey Robinson, Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Taylor and Stevie Wonder, the small court house in Santa Maria, California looks set to take on the trappings of a red-carpeted movie premier venue.
During questioning on Wednesday morning, an African-American woman, holding one of the alternate spots, said she doubted Jackson would ever be given a fair hearing.
"How can he get a fair trial anywhere when even the ex-sherrif of Santa Barbara county gets on TV and tells the world he is a child molester?" said the woman, a former corrections officer.
"A jury of your peers? How is this man going to get it here?" she said.
Tuesday, the only black potential jury member had been bounced by a peremptory challenge from the prosecution, despite an objection by Jackson's lead lawyer, Thomas Mesereau.
Jackson, 46, listened attentively throughout the morning's proceedings and offered a wry smile when one prospective juror, a retired ex-military man, commented on the singer's career: "I'm not so much into his music but I sure like his moves."
Selecting an impartial jury had been expected to take several weeks, given the stellar celebrity of the defendant, the nature of the charges he faces and the blanket media coverage accorded the trial.
The process was disrupted twice, first for a death in Mesereau's family and again, last week, to allow Jackson to recover from a highly-publicised bout of flu.
Among the motions pending before Melville is one calling for the litigation history of Jackson's accusers to be brought into evidence.
Jackson's legal team is seeking to portray the family of his now 15-year-old accuser as "professional plaintiffs" who made a living from making "outrageous" charges in fraudulent lawsuits.
They specifically want the judge's permission to tell the jury about a 1999 suit against a US department store that included a sex assault allegation and resulted in a 150,000-dollar settlement.
Since the mayhem that surrounded Jackson's arraignment and first trial appearance, the daily scene outside the courthouse in Santa Maria has calmed considerably.
Slightly more than a dozen Jackson fans were on hand to chant messages of support for their idol as he entered the court on Wednesday, compared to several hundred who turned out when the trial opened on January 31.
Yahoo Story
Was anyone else into Oz when it was on HBO? Remember how they always took notorious crimes and made them a 1-2 episode character on the show? Like Verne Shillinger's boy dragging the black guy behind the pickup truck similar to what happened to James Bird in Texas?
What do you think they'd do with Michael Jackson as a real life character if he's convicted?
Anywho I just love the defense strategy for this trial. Overwhelm the jurors with famous witnesses and portray Mike as black. Yeah, MJ hasn't been black since 1985 but hey.... the memories people have!
I absolutely loathe celebrity trials but God knows this one is going to set the bar for bizarre for years to come, regardless of the outcome.
The 12-member panel ranged in age from a 20-year-old man to a 79-year-old widow.
There were no African Americans. The jury was described as being formed by eight non-Hispanic whites, three Hispanics and one Asian.
The selection process, which had twice been disrupted by week-long suspensions, wrapped up far quicker than expected, with Judge Rodney Melville clearly keen to see the case make some headway.
Once the jury was sworn in, attorneys moved on to selecting the eight alternate jurors who will act as replacements if required.
With the jury seated, the focus will switch to dozens of pending motions that the judge will have to deal with before the two sides can begin the trial proper with opening arguments and witness testimony.
Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a then 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Ranch, near here, in February and March of 2003. He has denied the charges.
With a lengthy and star-studded witness list that includes the likes of Smokey Robinson, Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Taylor and Stevie Wonder, the small court house in Santa Maria, California looks set to take on the trappings of a red-carpeted movie premier venue.
During questioning on Wednesday morning, an African-American woman, holding one of the alternate spots, said she doubted Jackson would ever be given a fair hearing.
"How can he get a fair trial anywhere when even the ex-sherrif of Santa Barbara county gets on TV and tells the world he is a child molester?" said the woman, a former corrections officer.
"A jury of your peers? How is this man going to get it here?" she said.
Tuesday, the only black potential jury member had been bounced by a peremptory challenge from the prosecution, despite an objection by Jackson's lead lawyer, Thomas Mesereau.
Jackson, 46, listened attentively throughout the morning's proceedings and offered a wry smile when one prospective juror, a retired ex-military man, commented on the singer's career: "I'm not so much into his music but I sure like his moves."
Selecting an impartial jury had been expected to take several weeks, given the stellar celebrity of the defendant, the nature of the charges he faces and the blanket media coverage accorded the trial.
The process was disrupted twice, first for a death in Mesereau's family and again, last week, to allow Jackson to recover from a highly-publicised bout of flu.
Among the motions pending before Melville is one calling for the litigation history of Jackson's accusers to be brought into evidence.
Jackson's legal team is seeking to portray the family of his now 15-year-old accuser as "professional plaintiffs" who made a living from making "outrageous" charges in fraudulent lawsuits.
They specifically want the judge's permission to tell the jury about a 1999 suit against a US department store that included a sex assault allegation and resulted in a 150,000-dollar settlement.
Since the mayhem that surrounded Jackson's arraignment and first trial appearance, the daily scene outside the courthouse in Santa Maria has calmed considerably.
Slightly more than a dozen Jackson fans were on hand to chant messages of support for their idol as he entered the court on Wednesday, compared to several hundred who turned out when the trial opened on January 31.
Yahoo Story
Was anyone else into Oz when it was on HBO? Remember how they always took notorious crimes and made them a 1-2 episode character on the show? Like Verne Shillinger's boy dragging the black guy behind the pickup truck similar to what happened to James Bird in Texas?
What do you think they'd do with Michael Jackson as a real life character if he's convicted?
Anywho I just love the defense strategy for this trial. Overwhelm the jurors with famous witnesses and portray Mike as black. Yeah, MJ hasn't been black since 1985 but hey.... the memories people have!
I absolutely loathe celebrity trials but God knows this one is going to set the bar for bizarre for years to come, regardless of the outcome.
