TV ban muted Jacko show
What a difference a camera makes.
The Michael Jackson trial had all the elements of the show trial of the century: a world-famous defendant, over-the-top courtroom histrionics, shady accusers, lurid sexual testimony, stars on the witness stand and a detailed glimpse into an eccentric private world where a 46-year-old pop star swills "Jesus juice" with little boys he calls "Doo-Doo Head."
But because cameras were banned from the courtroom, the world was spared round-the-clock TV coverage and all the attendant hoopla.
Ironically, it was a TV special that started the whole spectacle in the first place.
When Jackson, in a 2003 interview with British journalist Martin Bashir, talked on camera about sleeping in the same bed as young boys, District Attorney - and Jackson nemesis - Tom Sneddon pounced.
Soon, Neverland was besieged by cops waving search warrants. Then Jackson was indicted, charged with molesting one of the boys who appeared in the documentary - a young cancer patient - and holding his family hostage after the video aired.
Jackson's arraignment turned into an extraordinary circus.
Holding a giant umbrella, the peculiar pop star climbed onto the roof of his black SUV, where he moonwalked amid a sea of screaming fans. Stereos set up by his entourage blared his song "DA" - the one with the refrain that sounds like "Tom Sneddon is a cold man."
As the trial got going, the shenanigans continued. Jackson showed up in daffy outfits - first military uniforms with gold epaulets, and then an attempt to recreate the Vegas-era Elvis look.
He delayed jury selection a week because of a stomach bug.
On the dramatic day when Jackson's accuser was set to testify, the King of Pop didn't show up. His lawyer said he was back in the hospital with back problems.
No-nonsense Judge Rodney Melville had had enough. He ordered Jackson into court immediately or face arrest. Jackson's motorcade came screaming up to the courthouse and the singer shuffled slowly in. In what may be the most bizarre detail of the whole trial, Jackson actually wore pajamas to face the boy he is accused of taking to bed.
The accuser, now 15, told his lurid tale: Jackson got him drunk on wine he called "Jesus juice," showed him porn, told him that boys must masturbate or they "might rape a girl," and then began to fondle him.
Defense lawyers went after the boy, getting him to admit he had often previously denied that anything was strange at Neverland.
The boy's mother was painted as almost as eccentric as Jackson - and devious. She had previously sued JCPenney under fishy circumstances, and her other son admitted on the stand she had coached him into lying in a civil suit.
Prosecutors lost ground elsewhere. They called Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe to testify that her remarks in a video praising Jackson were scripted and that the accuser's family was coerced into appearing in the same tribute video.
Instead, she said all her praise was genuine and called her ex a great father who is the victim of money-hungry hangers-on.
The defense got bitten by a witness, too. Comic Jay Leno was called to the stand to say the accuser tried to weasel money out of him but he testified he was never asked for money.
Many of the celebs Jackson had wanted to call - ranging from Elizabeth Taylor to Kobe Bryant - were quashed by the judge, but faded child star Macaulay Culkin took the stand to deny anything wrong happened when he shared a bed with Jackson.
As the trial came to an end last week, white-maned defense lawyer Tom Mesereau decided he didn't need to take the risk of putting Jackson on the stand.
Most analysts agree the case against Jackson is weak and his accusers have been efficiently impeached. But the former Thriller's bizarre lifestyle, coupled with evidence that he paid off the families of two other accusers, could sink him anyway.
The betting around the courthouse is for a hung jury, but no one wants to make hard predictions.
"I don't think either side has reason to be overconfident," said Loyola Law School Prof. Laurie Levenson.
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