Jackson Ruling 'Devastating'

Analyst: Case Virtually 'Over' Now; Jackson Must Take Stand

(CBS)  Michael Jackson and his defense team were handed a blow Monday when the judge ruled that jurors can hear past allegations that the pop star molested five other boys.

District Attorney Tom Sneddon says those incidents include Jackson kissing and hugging the boys.

Legal analyst Anne Bremner, a former prosecutor, was in court for the ruling, one that she tells The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen will have huge implications for the trial.

"Things," she says, "will never be the same in this case. It was devastating. The case -- they say it's not over 'till it's over? It's over, in terms of what we know about this evidence."

Why?

"Pattern evidence, basically -- once a pedophile, always a pedophile. It's human nature for the jury to think that and find him guilty in this case."

What's more, "It's mostly going to be from eyewitnesses. And what the judge -- what his line of demarcation was -- he only allowed evidence where there were eyewitnesses to molestation and grooming.

"So, they're third-party witnesses. They don't have an axe to grind for the most part. They're not potential victims that would go after Michael Jackson for money. So they're even more credible than a potential victim. One victim will testify, but 99 percent of this is evidence from third-party eyewitnesses."

Which, Bremner asserts, means Jackson "has to take the stand. There's no other way to win this case right now.

"Things were going well for him before. The prosecution had faltered. They hadn't failed, but they had a huge boost yesterday and the most important moment in the trial. And this judge ruled that these prior acts of molestation and grooming could be heard by this jury."

Asked by Chen if the jury would be swayed at all by Jackson's fame, should he take the stand, Bremner said she doubts it: "This jury is very grounded. They don't seem to be taken with slights of fancy."