List of witnesses and defense attorneys released

A list of people who are expected to testify in court in defense of Michael Jackson has been released. In this list of more than 350 people, the names of Michael Jackson’s own children, 10 members of his family, and some of his relatives, as well as many celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Barry Gibb, Larry King (CNN), Deepak Chopra, Chris Tucker, Kari Feldman, Rita Kazby (Fox), Yuri Geller, Steve Wynn (a businessman), Kobe Bryant (basketball player), David Blaine (magician), Ed Bradley (CBS), Nick and Aaron Carter (from the Backstreet Boys), relatives of Marlon Brando, and Mark Geragos (Michael’s former attorney) can be seen.

Judge Radney Melville, the judge in Jackson’s case, told the 240 people who are expected to be selected—12 of them—to form the jury, to take a break and look at the matter with an open mind. He said that the biggest fear of a trial is that a judge or jurors have been “bought.”

“I haven’t been bought. I haven’t made any decision about this case, and I want to select a jury that feels exactly like I do. If you look at it like an interview, you might be able to relax a bit.”

This remark made the attendees laugh.

The 240 people who were present in court yesterday range in age from 18 to 80, including a wide variety—from students to janitors and engineers. The average age of these people is 46. Most of the 240 are white. One third are Spanish, and the number of Black people is only a few.

Michael Jackson’s defense attorneys will likely remove people who have teenage children among these 240, because they may be sensitive to the issue of child abuse. The prosecution team is also looking for people who respect the law.

During the question-and-answer sessions with the prospective jurors, the prosecution and defense attorneys can remove those whom they believe are not qualified to remain on the jury.

Source: AP