2005 trial of Michael Jackson

In 2005, Michael Jackson went to trial on child molestation charges. The alleged victim was a boy, Gavin Arvizo, referred to as "the accuser." Arvizo was 13 years old at the time of the alleged crimes. Michael Jackson was indicted for conspiracy with five (unindicted) co-conspirators to abduct the accuser, his sister, and his brother, falsely imprison and extort the same children and their mother, and for sexually molesting the accuser. On June 13, 2005, the jury found Jackson not guilty on all charges.

Arrest and investigation

Along with the warrant to search the premises was a warrant for the arrest of Jackson. Jackson was in Las Vegas, Nevada at the time recording a music video for his most recent single "One More Chance", from his Number Ones greatest hits album, which had been released at midnight, just hours before the warrants were issued and the allegations broke to the media.

Related Topics:
Warrant for the arrest - Las Vegas, Nevada - Number Ones

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On November 20, Jackson flew in a leased jet to Santa Barbara Airport and surrendered himself to California police. Driven by police to the Santa Barbara County Jail, he emerged from the police vehicle in handcuffs. He was charged with "lewd or lascivious acts" with a child younger than 14 under section 288(a) of the California Penal Code. He posted US$3 million bail.

Related Topics:
November 20 - Santa Barbara Airport - Handcuffs - California Penal Code - US$ - Bail

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Later Jackson requested lowering of the bail. The prosecution was opposed as they argued that Jackson might well consider going to live in another country as a fugitive: there are several countries of Europe, the Near East and Africa, where Jackson is adored, and several of those countries do not have extradition treaties with the United States. Also they cite Andrew Luster as an example: he fled to Mexico, notwithstanding his $1 million bail bond.

Related Topics:
Fugitive - Andrew Luster - Mexico

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The judge was Rodney S. Melville, 62. Jackson's lawyers have included Mark Geragos (who also simultaneously defended Scott Peterson) and Benjamin Brafman (who won an acquittal on weapons and bribery charges for P. Diddy), until Jackson replaced them with Thomas Mesereau Jr. (who briefly represented actor Robert Blake) because a lawyer was needed who could give Jackson's case his full attention.

Related Topics:
Mark Geragos - Scott Peterson - P. Diddy - Thomas Mesereau Jr. - Robert Blake

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Jackson had been temporarily exempted from the requirement to stay in the US, for a possible trip to Britain ending not later than January 6, but he did not use the exemption after all. Shortly after being arrested, Jackson was made to surrender his passport to Santa Barbara authorities. At the time of his booking, his weight was measured at 56 kg (120 pounds), a notably low weight for a 178 cm (5' 11") middle-aged man. A series of public vigils to protest his innocence, organised by fans, were held on November 23, but were notable for the low turn-outs.

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On November 25 2003 it was revealed that, unbeknownst to Jackson, the private jet that was chartered to take him and his attorney from Vegas to California was secretly wired with video and audio recording devices. A third party took recordings on this trip and attempted to sell them to major television and radio networks for an extremely large amount of money; all declined to purchase. A restraining order against the jet company has been issued prohibiting the videotape from being shown to any third parties; a massive lawsuit toppling the $500,000,000 mark has been filed by Jackson's party against the perpetrators. Jackson has not paid his travel agent for the flight and is in 2004 being sued over that.

Related Topics:
November 25 - 2003

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On November 26 2003, it was revealed that XtraJet, the company that found the recordings and hidden cameras on Jackson's plane, on Monday, showed the video to several news organizations on November 24. FOX News reported that the tape shows Jackson calm and relaxed on the plane. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,104007,00.html

Related Topics:
November 26 - 2003 - XtraJet - November 24 - FOX News

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On December 18 2003, Jackson was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in order to commit that felony, in February and March 2003, all regarding the same boy under 14.

Related Topics:
December 18 - 2003 - Administering an intoxicating agent

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The felony complaint stated that Jackson had seven times "willfully, unlawfully, and lewdly committed a lewd and lascivious act, upon and with the boy's body and certain parts and members thereof, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, and gratifying the lust, passions, and sexual desires" of Jackson and the boy and that this sexual conduct has been "substantial".

Related Topics:
Felony - Complaint - Intent

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Also, that on two of these occasions, Jackson had administered to the boy an intoxicating agent, with intent thereby to enable and assist himself to carry out the previously mentioned act.

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Jackson denied and said that the sleepovers were non-sexual. He still described the boy on whose statements the accusations were based as "a sweet child"; he said the boy was manipulated by greedy parents.

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During a 60 Minutes interview with Ed Bradley, Jackson claimed that he was manhandled by police during his booking. Amongst other things, he claimed that his arms were dislocated, the handcuffs bruised his forearms, and that he was locked in a dirty bathroom for over 45 minutes. He has not formally filed his complaints.

Related Topics:
60 Minutes - Ed Bradley

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The Santa Barbara County police then released video tape showing Jackson's arrest, which seems to go smoothly and without incident. They also released audio tape of his ride into the police station. In it Jackson complains about the handcuffs, and is politely told by an officer how he can relieve the discomfort. He is heard to be whistling (nervously) and he asks for the air conditioning to be turned on; it is. Police allege this proves Jackson's claims are false; Jackson (and his family) claim what is being shown is only a biased view of what occurred: it does not prove that his claims are false, and police avoids showing what would prove his claims to be true.

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California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer ordered an independent investigation into Jackson's complaints. After interviewing 163 witnesses the complaints were rejected in August 2004.

Related Topics:
California - Attorney General - Bill Lockyer

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At the prosecution's request the judge issued a gag order which forbode the following parties to talk to the news media: the defendant, the prosecutor, defense counsel, any attorney working in their offices, their agents, staff, experts, any judicial officer or court employee, any law enforcement employee and any agency involved in the case, and any persons subpoenaed or expected to testify. The purpose was that people among whom a jury had to be selected were not influenced. However, he would consider proposals to allow either side to answer reporters' questions about rumors surrounding the case.

Related Topics:
Gag order - Defendant - Prosecutor - Counsel - Attorney - Court - Subpoena - Testify - Jury

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Jackson was arraigned January 16 2004, at the court of Santa Maria. He was admonished by the judge for turning up 20 minutes late. He entered a plea of "Not Guilty". Hundreds of fans and an international media circus surrounded the event, and Jackson responded with a dance atop a parked SUV, despite his alleged back problems. Subsequently, police decided to enforce more order from the public for safety reasons, and Jackson attorney Tom Mesereau reportedly counseled his client to tone down his theatrical behavior in and around the courthouse.

Related Topics:
Arraign - January 16 - 2004 - Santa Maria - Plea - Media circus - Tom Mesereau

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Judge Melville turned down a media's request for publication of 82 pages of documents and related tape recordings because that would violate the parties' privacy rights and complicate the process of selecting an unbiased jury. It concerned the boy's accounts of what allegedly happened, interviews with his family, statements that came out during the child's psychological counseling and information about the Chandler's case.

Related Topics:
Media - Privacy - Unbiased

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It was contained in an affidavit in which authorities explained their reasons for seeking a search warrant for Neverland Ranch.

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In a court session on February 13, 2004 it was revealed that the defence had just received 400 pages of evidence from the lead prosecutor and that hundreds more are expected. The judge said he wanted the trial to begin before the end of 2004. Both sides agreed that was possible. Jackson was not present. He was also not at sessions where only prosecution witnesses were required to testify, to determine whether there was enough evidence to start the trial itself.

Related Topics:
February 13 - 2004 - Trial

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In the court session of April 2, 2004 the judge ordered papers to be released from a previous unrelated lawsuit started by the accuser's family; Jackson's defense said they would be used to show Jackson's innocence.

Related Topics:
April 2 - 2004

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At some stage between the arrest and the trial Nation of Islam members were playing a major role in Jackson's affairs, to the visible consternation of defense attorney Mark Geragos, in particular in the field of security, and allegedly at the request of Jackson's brother Jermaine, a convert to Islam. The Nation of Islam presence around Jackson suddenly and quietly disappeared upon the hiring of criminal defense attorney Thomas Mesereau in April of 2004, a move, ironically, at the behest of Randy and Jermaine Jackson.

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