The Hindu : International : This call to duty has few takers

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Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005

International

International

This call to duty has few takers

— AP

Michael Jackson leaves the Santa Barbara County courthouse during a lunch recess in Santa Maria, California, on Monday.

SANTA MARIA (CALIFORNIA), FEB. 2. Michael Jackson stood and smiled as he faced the first prospective jurors in his criminal trial — a group roughly split between those willing to decide his fate and those hoping to avoid a role in the latest trial of the century.

Jackson, dressed in an all-white suit and a jewel-trimmed vest and belt, rose and remained standing as two batches of prospects — about 150 in the morning and another 150 in the afternoon — filed into the courtroom on Monday. The singer, his lawyers, and prosecutors remained silent as Judge Rodney S. Melville questioned the prospects about their willingness to serve.

Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a teenage boy and plying him with alcohol at his Neverland Ranch. He also is accused of conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive.

By the end of the day, Judge Melville had listened to 138 people asking to be excused, but the only person he dismissed immediately was a woman who was eight months pregnant.

``That's OK, first one that got deferred,'' the judge said to applause. Another 300 prospects were to be processed on Tuesday, followed by 150 on Wednesday. Those not immediately excused were to fill out questionnaires to be studied by attorneys before individual questioning later. Besides 12 jurors, Judge Melville wants eight alternates.

Outside, hundreds of fans from around the world shouted their support, some dressed like the superstar. There also was a contingent of people who came to support the alleged victim.

Security fences kept order, unlike a year ago at Jackson's arraignment when 1,500 or more watched the pop star dance on an SUV and surged after his vehicle as he motored away. Holding signs that read, "Dear God, Please Give Michael Justice" and "Smooth But Not a Smooth Criminal,'' fans sang along with a Jackson song that derides the prosecutor in the case as a "cold man.''

The target of their ire, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, did not come to court. A deputy represented the prosecution. Judge Melville told both groups of prospective jurors that they might have to serve for about six months, and that it was an important duty. — AP

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