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Thomas Sneddon

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Thomas Mesereau

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Rodney S. Melville

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Prosecutors argued that the explicit materials found in Mr. Jackson's bedroom and at his Neverland ranch, some depicting adolescents or youthful-appearing adults, were evidence of Mr. Jackson's prurient interest in children. They said Mr. Jackson had used the explicit images as "grooming materials" to help seduce the accuser in this case and perhaps others. They also said Mr. Jackson's fingerprints and those of the boy and his younger brother appeared on at least one magazine.

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The defense portrayed the pop star as a victim of an extortion scheme, saying the boy's mother was a scheming grifter who sought money from many celebrities, including Jackson, and using her children as accomplices. They said she used her son's cancer as an excuse to solicit funds, even though her then-husband's medical insurance covered the boy's hospital bills.

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Dozens of sexually explicit books, magazines and DVDs seized from Michael Jackson's ranch.
Witnesses (listed separately)

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Mesereau presented evidence that questioned the credibility of the mother of the victim. He said that the mother said J.C Penney guards beat her, and then she returned to the store and hugged employees, then filed a lawsuit and claimed they groped her. He also claimed in J.C Penney case that her husband never hit her, but in her divorce case, she claims that she was getting abused for years. With all of these contradicting claims, Mesereau suggested that she gave a conflicting testimony that shouldn't be considered reliable. He also mentioned she hid money to collect it for welfare, and she used said money to spend it on cosmetic surgery for herself.

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Witness #1 (Prosecution) - Mr. Jackson's Former Housekeeper (not pictured)

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Witness #1 (Prosecution) - Mr. Jackson's Former Housekeeper (not pictured)

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We couldn't find specific questions, but Jackson's former housekeeper testified that she once went into Jackson’s bedroom and found him in a shower with a boy she believed was Wade Robson. She had said that “their underwear was on the bathroom floor.”

I don't think it played a huge role, because the defense's witnesses had claims that countered what the housekeeper was saying.

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Question Asked: “Mr. Robson, did Michael Jackson ever molest you at any time?”

I think they did play a huge role because the witnesses (Robson and Barnes) were proclaimed victims of Jackson and the fact they're saying he never molested them probably shocked a lot of people and changed the whole verdict of the case.

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Question Asked:  “Mr. Barnes, did Michael Jackson ever molest you at any time?”

Barnes' testimony played a big role in the trial as well for the same reason stated before.

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Cross Examination for Prosecution and Defense

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Cross Examination for Prosecution and Defense

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When Robson was called to stand, he was asked by Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Ronald Zonen whether it was appropriate for an 8-year-old boy to sleep in bed with a man in his 30s. Zonen also brought out sexually explicit magazines belonging to Jackson which had naked boys and men engaging in homosexual acts then asked Robson, “Would you be concerned about a person who possesses books like that crawling in bed with a 10-year-old boy?”
When Barnes was called to cross-examination by Zonen, he claimed he was unable to remember dates and events, such as the age he stopped sleeping with Jackson and the reason why they stopped sleeping together. Zonen also asked, “Is there another 35-year-old man you slept with when you were 10 years old?” --- in which Robson replied with his uncle. Zonen also asked Barnes to identify several photographs taken of him as a boy with Jackson, including one where Jackson appears to be wearing only underwear.

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Thomas Sneddon allowed his deputy to deliver the closing argument. "This case is about the exploitation and sexual abuse of a 13-year-old cancer survivor by an international celebrity." He then tried to defend the boy's mother, whom the defense has portrayed as a grifter, an abused spouse struggling to raise three teenagers, and who never asked anyone for money.

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Mr. Jackson's lead lawyer, Thomas A. Mesereau, dismissed the prosecution's account as a lurid fantasy woven by enemies of Mr. Jackson and a family seeking to exploit his fame and riches to become wealthy itself.

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The jury was deliberating for about 32 hours through the seven days before reaching its final decision.

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The jury of eight women and four men concluded that the evidence was not sufficient enough to prove that Jackson was a predatory child molester who groomed his alleged victim with liquor and pornography and then groped him. The jurors found him not guilty.

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We disagree with the verdict. While the final verdict claimed that there was not enough sufficient evidence to prove Jackson guilty, today there have been more victims speaking out against him, as well as new documentaries with more incriminating evidence.

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If we were the judge, what would the punishment be in our case?

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If we were the judge, what would the punishment be in our case?

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20 years to life sentence

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In our opinion, was justice served in our court case?

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In our opinion, was justice served in our court case?

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Justice was not served in this court case because with all of the allegations, it seems as if he's getting away with it. Also with Jackson being a famous celebrity, it's more likely for him to get away with the crimes.

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