Day 63: Judge Sets Jury Instructions, Lawyers Argue Final Motions Before Closing Arguments
Created: Tuesday, 31 May 2005
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
On day 63 Michael Jackson was not required to appear in court while lawyers for both sides and the judge in his trial tried to work out the instructions the jury will receive before beginning deliberations, likely this week.
After a day of wrangling, Judge Rodney S. Melville said he would finish Wednesday morning, bring jurors in at noon and instruct them, then have closing arguments begin Thursday.
Mr. Jackson was not present for the discussion of what should be contained in jury instructions.
One instruction approved by the judge addressed the importance of the TV documentary "Living With Michael Jackson," in which Mr. Jackson's future accuser appeared with Mr. Jackson and Mr. Jackson said he allowed children to sleep in his bed in an innocent, non-sexual way.
"I'm willing to give .... the instruction, 'The video of Living With Michael Jackson is not offered for the truth of what is said except for certain identified passages,'" the judge said. "'The rest is considered hearsay and you can only consider that it aired and its impact if any on Mr. Jackson.'"
The passages the judge referred to were not specified in open court.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys also argued over how jurors should weigh the credibility of a witness and also debated what the jury should be told about judging Mr. Jackson based on the past allegations against him.
Judge Rodney S. Melville said he would tell the jurors they could consider the alleged past acts if they "tend to show intent" on Mr. Jackson's part with regard to the crimes with which he is actually charged.
However, the jurors will have to decide whether the allegations of past acts — which never resulted in any criminal charges — were true.
"Evidence has been introduced for the purpose of showing the defendant committed crimes other than those for which he is on trial," the approved instructions read. "This evidence, if believed, may be considered by you only for the limited purpose of deciding if it tends to show a characteristic plan or scheme to commit acts."
Melville also agreed to tell the jurors that they are entitled to reject the testimony of a witness who is willfully false in any material fact, but are not required to do so if they feel the witness is truthful in other regards.
The allegations against Mr. Jackson that he gave his accuser wine will be under a separate category called "lesser included offenses," which would allow jurors to find Mr. Jackson guilty of a misdemeanor of giving liquor to a minor even if he were acquitted of molestation.
The judge acted at the request of the prosecution and over the objections of Mr. Jackson's defense team. The main charge of molesting the then 13-year-old cancer patient remained unchanged, as did the other charges of conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.
Mr. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The original indictment against Mr. Jackson alleged that alcohol was administered to assist in the alleged molestation.
The arguments over the jury instructions droned on for hours.
"Your honor, if we had televised today's proceedings we could have deterred an entire generation of kids from going to law school," defense attorney Robert Sanger said.
Later, in discussion of a new instruction that jurors may not bring cell phones into deliberations, Sanger quipped, "That replaced the old one that had to do with bringing Ouija boards in."
The judge made his decisions on Tuesday while discussing with prosecution and defense attorneys how he would instruct the jury before handing them the case, and what boundaries he would set for closing arguments.
Melville also said he would supply each juror with a set of written instructions before he addressed the panel and would allow jurors to consult them during deliberations. While not unprecedented, it is unusual for a judge in California to provide jurors with written instructions.
The prosecution and defense both ended the evidence phase of their cases on Friday and closing arguments were expected to begin on Wednesday with the possibility that the jury could be handed the case by the end of the week.
Two key players in the case, lead defense attorney Tom Mesereau and prosecutor Ron Zonen, were absent from the court room on Tuesday, presumably working on their closing arguments.
Source: MJJsource / AP / Reuters