Michael Jackson Trial: The Defense Rests

Now that the show is over, the prosecution is presenting its rebuttal case to bring the jury's focus back to the facts in evidence. The defense objected to some of the rebuttal witnesses and hearings were conducted outside of the jury's presence. One of the witnesses the prosecution wants to call is Mark Geragos.

The prosecution not only wants to call Michael Jackson's own former attorney to the stand as a rebuttal witness, it also wants to show the jury the video of the original police interview with the teenage accuser in the case, which they believe will show he had to be coaxed into telling his story during the four-hour ordeal.

The defense argued if the video is introduced into evidence that they should be allowed to recall the teenager for cross-examination. During their case, the defense used a video of Michael Jackson that the prosecution could not cross-examine.

Judge Rodney Melville said he will watch the DVD of the interview tonight and make a ruling in the morning.

The defense case mercifully ended after an angry Chris Tucker defended his friend, Michael Jackson, and attacked the former teenage cancer patient whom he once tried to help financially. Although the drastically curtailed defense case "scored some points" in the conspiracy case during the past four weeks, more often, witnesses called by the defense hit double digits for the prosecution.

The Conspiracy Case: The judge will instruct the jury that if they find that Jackson is guilty of any one of the alleged 28 overt acts within the conspiracy charge, they must find him guilty of conspiracy. The prosecution presented telephone records that show that the call made from someone the mother of the accuser recognized as Michael Jackson, telling her that her family was in danger and she needed to bring them to Miami, was made from the bedroom of the hotel suite in which Jackson was staying in Miami.

The telephone call is Count 1 of the conspiracy charge -- the phone call that set all subsequent acts of the conspiracy in motion. The defense tried to suggest that it might have been someone else mimicking Jackson's voice from his suite.

Right. It could have been another one of his prepubescent teen bedmates.

The Child Molestation Case: Entirely too much smoke. This jury is not stupid and this ain't L.A. The jury may deadlock on the conspiracy charge, but none of them could look their friends and family in the face if they turned Michael Jackson loose on society.

Besides, they watch Jay Leno.

Leno made a "Tonight Show" joke about bringing a souvenir from his testimony in the Jackson courtroom, and pulled a gavel out of his back pocket. Wednesday, Judge Melville opened court with the line, "has anyone seen my gavel?"

A couple of the jurors got the joke.

Background:
The Michael Jackson Case
Crime & Punishment Poll:
Is Michael Jackson a Molester?

Discuss This Case:
Michael Jackson-No Show At Trial