Judge Allows Evidence of Jackson's 'Prior Bad Acts'
After a heated hearing on the motion by the prosecution, Judge Melville ruled that testimony about previous sexual offenses and a pattern of "grooming" young boys for molestation would be allowed, but rather than allowing evidence about seven previous Jackson victims, he allowed only five.
The jury will hear directly from a 1990 accuser who received $2.4 million from a Jackson settlement and from the boy's mother. The boy who reached a reported $22 million settlement in 1993 will not testify, Melville ruled, but he did allow testimony from others who had knowledge of the case.
Melville said the jury can be told that the boys reached settlements with Jackson to not file criminal charges, but they cannot be told the amounts of those settlements, unless the defense introduces those details.
A Pattern of Behavior
The long-awaited ruling was based on a California law, passed after Jackson's 1993 payoff to one accuser, that allows past acts to be admitted as evidence in child molestation cases to show a pattern of behavior.
District Attorney Tom Sneddon told the judge Jackson had been seen inappropriately touching four previous victims, all of whom were 10 to 13 years old at the time of the incidents.
The prosecution made the motion to allow the testimony from the previous allegations before the current trial began, but Judge Melville said he would wait until after the state presented its "case in chief" before ruling. Courtroom observers agreed the outcome of the present trial would probably swing toward a guilty verdict if the jury was allowed to hear of the past allegations.
See Also:
Judge Allows Past Jackson Allegations
Michael Jackson Judge Allows Evidence of Past Offenses
The Smoking Gun: Dirty Laundry
Background:
The Michael Jackson Case
King of Pop or Wacko Jacko?
Witnesses Back Up Jackson Accuser's Claims
Jackson Accusation Details Revealed
Comments
Dear Charles Montaldo: You need to correct an error. In your review of Ed Gein the Wisconsin’s ghoul you list his birthday as Aughust 27, 1906. This date is incorrect.
In 1974 after viewing the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I was curious to find if this movie was true or not. After some lenghty research I finally made contact with Judge Robert H. Gollmar from Wisconsin.
In 1981 Judge Gollmar who presided over Ed Gein’s trial…tried to have a book published about this case, but an injuction was placed against the book by a legal action brought upon him by the people of Plainfield. Judge Gollmar was nice enough to put me in touch with the publisher who was nice enough to sell me an original hardcover book by Judge Golldmar “Edward Gein”, America’s Most Bizarre Murderer. The judge also sent me a book the he had published before, pertaining to unusual and funny cases he had presided over in the very rural Wisconsin.
Years later a new book “Deviant” by Harold Schechter came out about Ed Gein. In this second book, Ed Gein’s birtthday was listed as August 27, 1906…while in Judge Gollmar’s book it is listed as August 08, 1906. I spoke to Judge Gollmar about it. His response was pure and simple. The court transcript during Ed Gein’s trial reveals that his true birthday was the 08 of August 1906. Judge Gollmar explained that way back then, in most rural very small village, a birth certificate was issued by the church when the infant got baptized and not when he was born. Ed Gein was born on August the 8th and was baptized on the 27th 1906.
Ed Gein and his parents knew very well the date he was born, for having celebrated his birthday on the 08, throughout his life. And during his trial when he was asked on what date he was born, Ed Gein correctly answered August the 8th, 1906. The date in Judge Gollmar’s book is correct. Harold Schechter based his date of birth of August 27th, 1906 on the day of baptismal…which is incorrect.
Due a bit of detective work Mr. Montaldo and you will see that Judge Gollmar was right. You, him, and me might be the very few who know the truth on Gein’s true day of birth.
Steven Book-Lover / Librophile@hotmail.com