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Prosecutorial Disaster

by Conservativity Staff,
Originally Posted: 4/14/2005 11:27:22 AM

Michael Jackson’s trial seemed last week, with all of the "prior bad acts evidence," to be headed straight to convictionland.  However, some of the more astute observers noted that every single one of the witnesses that testified had an axe to grind against Mr. Jackson.  One person even had a court judgment in Mr. Jackson’s favor against him in an amount exceeding one million dollars!  The accuser’s mother has taken the Fifth Amendment in these proceedings, and yesterday, jurors quickly and obviously tired of her melodrama.  Courtroom reporters opined that this drama was staged.

"I cannot believe anything that the prosecution has put forward to date.  Everyone in the case who has had anything bad to relate has been so thoroughly horsewhipped on cross-examination that no sane jury could credit their testimony."

I will not comment on the "prior bad acts" testimony because there is a law in California that allows this normally-barred testimony in sex offense cases; it is the law and I respect that.  Moreover, I agree with the law, which was passed because of the well-documented propensity of sex offenders to repeat forever, no matter what intervention or punishment is used to try to dissuade them.  That said, I cannot believe anything that the prosecution has put forward to date.  Everyone in the case who has had anything bad to relate has been so thoroughly horsewhipped on cross-examination that no sane jury could credit their testimony.  Roe Conn of WLS-AM in Chicago has opined that Mr. Jackson shouldn’t bother to put on a defense.  Mr. Conn is a true expert, having covered the O.J. trial gavel-to-gavel for that station.  I agree in theory, but Tom Mesereau has promised the jury that Michael Jackson would testify.  He has to keep that promise to seal the deal.

One exception:  Mr. Mesereau should move the court to dismiss as soon as the prosecution rests its case on the ground that no jury could convict based on the evidence adduced in court.  He should do much more than the pro forma motion that Johnny Cochran presented in O.J.’s trial.  He should brief the entire motion carefully and fully, and make a real, full-court-press effort to win the motion.  I personally think that he stands a good chance of winning the motion.

"Michael Jackson is actually innocent of the crimes of which he is accused.  He is also a gullible moron who leaves himself open to these kinds of accusations and the lemmings who will ’pile on’ for a pay day."

Nothing I have heard so far has changed my mind:  Michael Jackson is actually innocent of the crimes of which he is accused.  He is also a gullible moron who leaves himself open to these kinds of accusations and the lemmings who will "pile on" for a pay day.  If he were smart, when he is acquitted, he should donate his animals to needy zoos, sell off the amusement rides and sell Neverland to developers who will bulldoze it.  He should then get rid of that massive entourage of his and buy an island in the Pacific.  He should keep his brother Randy away from his money and enjoy a quiet life as a very rich man.

When he is acquitted (I don’t think that there is any real probability of conviction now), he probably will go on with business as usual, and will be out of money trying to pay for his ridiculously opulent lifestyle.  He could rejuvenate his career, but it would take his constant effort to distance himself from these accusations.

The prosecution of this case, which I have previously opined was a vendetta, has been a disaster, to put it kindly.